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. Data on industrial production for December will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in Somerset, NJ at 9:05 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 130 points to 24,451.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10.25 points to 2,645.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 25.25 points to 6,744.50. U.S. stock markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.21 percent to trade at $61.92 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 1.4 percent to trade at $52.80 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.51 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 1.23 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 1.32 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.38 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 1.49 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.29 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.25 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.31 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.03 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Nomura upgraded Arista Networks Inc ANET from Neutral to Buy.

Arista shares fell 0.07 percent to close at $221.03 on Thursday.

Breaking News

• Eli Lilly And Co LLY disclosed that its Phase 3 study of LARTRUVO did not meet its primary endpoint.
• First Horizon National Corp FHN reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• SunTrust Banks, Inc. STI reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Netflix, Inc. NFLX reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company sees first-quarter global paid net additions of 8.9 million and issued weak Q1 sales guidance.