A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports. Data on durable goods orders for December, Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter, U.S. international trade in goods for December and wholesale inventories for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 75 points to 26,451.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10.5 points to 2,851.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 35 points to 6,966.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.14 percent to trade at $70.52 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.21 percent to trade at $65.65 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.13 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.45 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.01 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.43 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.89 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.16 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.53 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.28 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.31 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc downgraded Whirlpool Corporation WHR from Overweight to Sector Weight.

Whirlpool shares fell 0.81 percent to $181.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Honeywell International Inc. HON reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and raised its FY18 earnings outlook.



• Rockwell Collins, Inc. COL reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Intel Corporation INTC reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and also raised its quarterly dividend by 10 percent.



• Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. APD posted upbeat results for its first quarter and issued a strong FY18 earnings forecast.