A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from several companies. Data on retail sales for January and the Consumer Price Index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 120 points to 24,746.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 11 points to 2,672.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 27 points to 6,588.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.27 percent to trade at $62.55 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures slipped 0.63 percent to trade at $58.82 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.65 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.79 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.73 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.75 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.85 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.43 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 2.27 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.45 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.42 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Atlantic Equities upgraded Viacom, Inc. VIAB from Underweight to Neutral.

Viacom shares rose 1.06 percent to $33.45 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Bunge Ltd BG reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Galmed Pharmaceuticals Ltd GLMD disclosed that its top line data from the ARRIVE study did not meet its primary endpoint.



• Interpublic Group of Companies Inc IPG reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.



• Fossil Group Inc FOSL reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.