A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise; Jobs Report In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Markit services PMI for January is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for December and the ISM non-manufacturing index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans is set to speak in Olympia Fields, Ill. At 9:15 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 35 points to 19,856.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3.50 points to 2,279.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 5.50 points to 5,136.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 0.53 percent to trade at $56.86 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.47 percent to trade at $53.79 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 0.50 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.60 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.25 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.53 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.84 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.02 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.24 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.60 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.05 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays upgraded Ford Motor Company F from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised the price target from $13.00 to $15.00.

Ford shares rose 0.98 percent to $12.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, but sales missed estimates. The company also issued a weak sales forecast for the first quarter.



• Hershey Co HSY reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Visa Inc V posted stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter.



• Phillips 66 PSX posted a 75 percent drop in its fourth-quarter profit. Adjusted earnings also declined to $0.16 per share from $1.31 per share.