A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. Tom Barkin is set to speak at 2:00 p.m. ET, while Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will speak at 3:30 p.m. ET. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is set to speak at 3:30 p.m. ET. Data on consumer credit for March will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44 points to 24,272.0, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 6.65 points to 2,669.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 36 points to 6,810.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.92 percent to trade at $75.56 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1 percent to trade at $70.4 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.32 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.17 percent and German DAX 30 index rising 0.29 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.86 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.01 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.03 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.23 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.48 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.84 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays downgraded Eaton Corporation plc ETN from Equal-Weight to Underweight.

Eaton shares rose 2.46 percent to close at $74.87 on Friday.

Breaking news

• International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter and agreed to acquire Frutarom for $7.1 billion.



• Mondelez International, Inc. MDLZ announced plans to acquire Tate's Bake Shop for $500 million.



• ynchronoss Technologies, Inc. SNCR reported a deal to buy honeybee.



• DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc XRAY reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $0.45 per share on sales of $956.1 million. The company updated its 2018 adjusted earnings guidance to $2.55 to 2.65 per share.