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 import and export prices for April will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George will speak in Minneapolis, MN at 12:15 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 161 points to 25,442.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 21.4 points to 2,828.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 75.25 points to 7,390.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9 percent to trade at $70.87 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.6 percent to trade at $61.41 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.7 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.5 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.9 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.1 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.59 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.5 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.69 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.61 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Deere & Company DE from Neutral to Underweight and lowered the price target from $154 to $132.

Deere shares fell 1 percent to $144.85 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Athersys, Inc. ATHX disclosed that it has received FDA Fast Track designation for its multistem program for acute respiratory distress syndrome.
• Fuel Tech Inc FTEK reported Q1 net loss of $0.05 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $0.01 per share. Sales came in at $10.155 million, missing estimates by $3.585 million.
• Hydrogenics Corporation HYGS reported downbeat results for its first quarter.
• Immersion Corporation IMMR reported a Q1 earnings beat. Adjusted earnings came in at $(0.28), beating estimates by a penny. Sales came in-line at $5.1 million. The company also reported a litigation settlement including a patent and technology license deal.