A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of General Motors Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from General Motors Company GM, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd KORS, Walt Disney Co DIS and Mondelez International Inc MDLZ. Data on international trade for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Labor Department's JOLTS report for December is scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Data on consumer credit for December will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 70 points to 20,039.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 7 points to 2,293.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 13.75 points to 5,170.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.23 percent to trade at $55.59 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.26 percent to trade at $52.87 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.06 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.41 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.45 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.67 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.07 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.35 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.07 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.12 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.37 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Biogen Inc BIIB from Neutral to Buy.

Biogen shares rose 1.02 percent to $267.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• WellCare Health Plans, Inc. WCG reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.



• Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd TEVA disclosed that its CEO Erez Vigodman is stepping down. The company named Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer.



• Archer Daniels Midland Company ADM reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Gap Inc. GPS reported a 1 percent gain in its comparable sales for January, versus a drop of 8 percent last year. Its net sales for the month rose 2 percent to $828 million.