Pre-open movers

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5 points to 18,825.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 1.50 points to 2,162.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 1.50 points to 4,697.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 2.88 percent to trade at $45.71 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 2.94 percent to trade at $45.23 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.06 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.10 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.07 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.43 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.17 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.03 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.46 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.11 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 1.92 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Raymond James upgraded Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP) from Outperform to Strong Buy.

Advance Auto Parts shares rose 12.74 percent to $161.11 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news