A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Existing Home Sales Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on existing home sales for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 75 points to 24,850.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 7.50 points to 2,691.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 22.75 points to 6,523.50.

Oil prices traded mostly higher as Brent crude futures fell 0.02 percent to trade at $63.79 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.58 percent to trade at $57.49 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.84 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.27 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.42 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.14 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.43 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.10 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.07 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.27 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.18 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Alcoa Corp AA from Neutral to Outperform.

Alcoa shares rose 1.03 percent to $47.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Micron Technology, Inc. MU reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter and also issued strong second quarter guidance.



• FedEx Corporation FDX reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter on Tuesday.



• BlackBerry Ltd BB posted stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.



• General Mills, Inc. GIS reported in-line earnings for its second quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.