A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open Movers

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. On Monday, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen assured interest rates will not be raised until the economic outlook becomes more certain. Data on nonfarm productivity and unit labor costs for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while consumer credit data for April will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 59 points to 17,974.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 6.75 points to 2,115.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 17 points to 4,542.50.

Related Link: Economists Mixed On Yellen's Speech

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.1 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.4 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.7 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.67 percent, while French CAC 40 Index surged 1.3 percent. The eurozone's gross domestic products rose 0.6 percent in the first quarter, compared to the final three months of 2015.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.58 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.42 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.07 percent and India's BSE Sensex gained 0.87 percent. The Reserve Bank of India kept its policy interest rate unchanged at 6.50 percent.

Find out what's going on in today's market and bring any questions you have to Benzinga's PreMarket Prep.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded Jabil Circuit, Inc. JBL from Neutral to Sell and lowered the price target from $19.00 to $17.00.

Jabil Circuit shares rose 1.59 percent to $71.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• HD Supply Holdings, Inc. HDS posted a loss for the first quarter compared to profit last year. However, on an adjusted basis, net income topped the Street analysts' expectations driven by 7 percent increase in net sales. The company also issued upbeat earnings guidance for the second quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI posted better-than-expected earnings on Monday. United Natural Foods reported Q3 EPS of $0.76 vs. $0.66 estimates, and sales of $2.13 billion vs. $2.16 billion estimates. To read the full news, click here.
• Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX tumbled 11 percent after the company reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the first quarter and reduced its full year adjusted earnings outlook. To read the full news, click here.
• Casey's General Stores Inc CASY reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings. Casey's posted sales of $1.58 billion vs. estimated $1.5 billion, while EPS missed by $0.03 at $1.19 vs. $1.22 estimated by the Street. To read the full news, click here.