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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and nonfarm productivity for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Markit services PMI for October is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for September and the ISM non-manufacturing index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 44 points to 17,922.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 5.25 points to 2,097.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 1 point to 4,717.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.13 percent to trade at $47.39 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 1.01 percent to trade at $45.80 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.46 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.56 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.19 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.19 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.80 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.76 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.56 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.84 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.35 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Fitbit Inc FIT from Overweight to Equal-Weight and lowered the price target from $31.00 to $11.00.

Fitbit shares fell 29.43 percent to $9.04 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXL delivered better than expected earnings for the third quarter, while revenue came in line with the estimates. To read the full news, click here.



• CIGNA Corporation CI delivered upbeat earnings for the third quarter. To read the full news, click here.



• Facebook Inc FB posted better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday. However, the company’s CFO warned that revenue growth rates would decline in the fourth quarter. To read the full news, click here.



• Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter. The company eliminated its co-CEO structure, and appointed John Mackey as sole CEO. To read the full news, click here.