A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from several companies. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Producer Price Index, the Empire State Manufacturing Index and the Philly Fed manufacturing index will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the housing market index is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 262 points to 25,125.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 18.75 points to 2,715.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 48.75 points to 6,735.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.02 percent to trade at $64.37 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.50 percent to trade at $60.90 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage 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 0.98 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.88 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.94 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.54 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.41 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.47 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.97 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.45 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.41 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Vertical Research upgraded SolarEdge Technologies Inc SEDG from Hold to Buy.

SolarEdge shares rose 16 percent to $42.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter. The company also announced it will add $25 billion to its buyback plan.



• Commscope Holding Company Inc COMM reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter.



• NetApp Inc NTAP shares tumbled over 8 percent in pre-market trading despite reporting a third quarter earnings beat. Adjusted earnings came in at 99 cents per share, beating estimates by 8 cents.



• Avid Bioservices Inc CDMO priced its 9 million share public offering of common stock at $2.25 per share.