A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Factory Orders Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on factory orders for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 217 points to 24,455, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 16.25 points to 2,660.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 30.25 points to 6,376.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.69 percent to trade at $63.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.99 percent to trade at $57.78 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.89 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.85 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.23 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.47 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.97 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.49 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.22 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.24 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.11 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays downgraded Charter Communications Inc CHTR from Equal-Weight to Underweight.

Charter Communications shares rose 3.08 percent to close at $336.27 on Friday.

Breaking news

• CVS Health Corp CVS agreed to acquire Aetna Inc AET for $69 billion.



• Amgen, Inc. AMGN disclosed that the FDA has approved its Repatha to prevent heart attack and stroke.



• Prysmian Group announced plans to acquire General Cable Corporation BGC for $30.00 per share in cash.



• Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM announced plans to merge its refining and marketing divisions to ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company. The company named Bryan Milton President of the entity.