A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Higher Ahead Of Consumer Sentiment, Wholesale Inventories Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for December and data on wholesale inventories for October is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 25 points to 19,645.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 0.75 points to 2,248.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 5.25 points to 4,868.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.63 percent to trade at $54.23 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.94 percent to trade at $51.32 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.31 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.72 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.25 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.18 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.63 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.23 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.44 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.54 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.20 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity upgraded Autodesk, Inc. ADSK from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $70.00 to $95.00.

Autodesk shares rose 1.74 percent to close at $81.74 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc RH reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but issued a weak outlook for the holiday quarter.



• Finisar Corporation FNSR reported upbeat results for its second quarter and issued a strong forecast for the current quarter.



• Vail Resorts, Inc. MTN reported a wider-than-expected loss for its fiscal first quarter.



• Fred's, Inc. FRED posted a wider-than-expected loss for its third quarter on Thursday.