A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Gain; Consumer Price Index In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Consumer Price Index for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 68 points to 25,306.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 6.50 points to 2,795.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 8.50 points to 7,173.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.26 percent to trade at $65.12 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.34 percent to trade at $61.57 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.72 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.08 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.17 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.02 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.43 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.66 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.02 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.49 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.18 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Cowen & Co. upgraded Century Aluminum Co CENX from Market Perform to Outperform.

Century Aluminum shares rose 3.28 percent to close at $20.81 on Monday.

Breaking news

• HD Supply Holdings Inc HDS reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter an issued a strong forecast for FY18.



• Tilly’s Inc TLYS reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. The company also issued weak first quarter guidance.



• DSW Inc. DSW reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.



• Proteostatis Therapeutics Inc PTI disclosed that the FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation for PTI-428 in Cystic Fibrosis.