A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Producer Price 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 the Producer Price Index for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for December will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak in New York at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39 points to 25,380.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.75 points to 2,753.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 12 points to 6,685.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.38 percent to trade at $69.46 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.63 percent to trade at $63.97 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.04 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.05 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.13 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.19 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.04 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.26 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.20 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.23 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.20 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Expedia Inc EXPE from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

Expedia shares fell 2.01 percent to close at $71.29 on Tuesday.

Breaking news

• Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.



• Heritage Commerce Corp. HTBK announced plans to acquire United American Bank UABK in a deal valued at around $44.2 million.



• SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. SSNC announced plans to acquire DST Systems, Inc. DST for $84 per share in cash.



• KB Home KBH reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.