A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on housing starts for January and import prices for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for February is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on e-commerce retail sales for the fourth quarter will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 46 points to 25,283.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 6.50 points to 2,740.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 20.75 points to 6,838.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.34 percent to trade at $64.55 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.21 percent to trade at $61.47 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.06 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.82 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.61 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.60 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.79 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.19 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 dropped 0.84 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at DA Davidson upgraded NetApp Inc. NTAP from Neutral to Buy.

NetApp shares fell 0.21 percent to $57.55 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Deere & Company DE reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• WABCO Holdings Inc. WBC reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.



• J M Smucker Co SJM posted better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY18 earnings forecast.



• Flowserve Corp FLS reported downbeat earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a weak earnings forecast for the full year.