A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philly Fed manufacturing index for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index of leading economic indicators for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 65 points to 23,389.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 7.75 points to 2,513.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index jumped 29.50 points to 6,385.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 3.18 percent to trade at $55.42 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 3.26 percent to trade at $46.60 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 falling 1.05 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.84 percent and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.91 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.30 percent, while French CAC 40 Index dipped 1.36 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 2.84 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.94 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.52 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.21 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity downgraded Civitas Solutions Inc CIVI from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $19 to $17.75.

Civitas shares climbed 12.08 percent to close at $17.54 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Accenture plc ACN reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
• Herman Miller, Inc. MLHR reported upbeat results for its second quarter and issued strong third-quarter sales guidance.
• BlackBerry Ltd BB reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA reported a better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.