A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise; Citigroup, Wells Fargo Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Citigroup Inc C and Wells Fargo & Co WFC. The Producer Price Index for September and retail sales report for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for August and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget data for September will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren is set to speak at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester will speak in Cleveland at 12:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen will speak at the Boston Fed's 60th Economic Conference, "The Elusive Recovery" at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 91 points to 18,113.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 10.25 points to 2,136.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 21 points to 4,817.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.71 percent to trade at $52.40 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.96 percent to trade at $51.34 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest 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 surging 1.94 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 1.56 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.65 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.86 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.94 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.49 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.88 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.08 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.11 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded ConAgra Foods Inc CAG from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $50.00 to $54.00.

ConAgra shares rose 0.49 percent to $47.15 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter on Friday. To read the full news, click here.



• HP Inc HPQ disclosed that it would be implementing a restructuring plan that would likely result in the firing of 3,000 to 4,000 employees, annual savings of $200 million to $300 million, and a charge of $350 million to $500 million. Management also announced a 7 percent surge in the stock’s dividend and an additional $3 million share repurchase program. The company issued its outlook for fiscal 2017, guiding for EPS of $1.55 to $1.65, mostly below the Street’s consensus of $1.64.



• PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. PNC delivered better than expected EPS for the third quarter. The company reported net income of $1.0 billion, or $1.84 a share, compared to $1.1 billion, or $1.90 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Street analysts' expected an EPS of $1.78. To read the full news, click here.



• Aerohive Networks Inc HIVE reported weak preliminary results for its third quarter. The company said it expects a net loss of $(0.06) to $(0.07) per share, versus consensus at $(0.04) per share. Revenue guidance of $40 million also fell short of expectations for almost $48 million.