A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. The Challenger job-cut report for April is schedule for release at 7:30 a.m. ET. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, international trade report for March and nonfarm productivity for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for April is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the ISM non-manufacturing index for April is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43 points to 23,868.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 5.75 points to 2,633.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 12.5 points to 6,646.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.07 percent to trade at $73.41 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.31 percent to trade at $68.14 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 lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.23 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.23 percent and German DAX 30 index falling 0.26 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.09 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.27 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.16 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.34 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.64 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.21 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays upgraded NVIDIA Corporation NVDA from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

NVIDIA shares rose 1.76 percent to $230.30 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Cigna Corporation CI reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY18 earnings forecast.
• Ball Corporation BLL reported upbeat results for its first quarter.
• American International Group Inc AIG reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss for its first quarter.