A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The FHFA house price index for December will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for February will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in Fort Worth, Texas at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 12 points to 20,761.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.50 points to 2,362.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 3 points to 5,354.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.40 percent to trade at $56.62 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.38 percent to trade at $54.33 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.33 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.04 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.14 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.09 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.09 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.04 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.36 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.30 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.10 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded NVIDIA Corporation NVDA from Market Perform to Underperform and lowered the price target from $100.00 to $85.00.

NVIDIA shares fell 3.4 percent to $107.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Hormel Foods Corp HRL reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and lowered its forecast.



• Kohl's Corporation KSS reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its dividend.



• Tesla Inc TSLA reported a wider-than-expected Q4 loss, while revenue exceeded expectations.



• Fitbit Inc FIT posted downbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.