A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise; Fed Decision In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from several companies. The ADP national employment report for January will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while the employment cost index for the fourth quarter is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for January will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for December is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 93 points to 26,148.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 9.50 points to 2,834.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 23.25 points to 6,963.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.64 percent to trade at $68.58 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.64 percent to trade at $64.09 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.05 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.01 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.12 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.12 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.15 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.83 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.86 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.21 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.19 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded Apple Inc. AAPL from Outperform to Market Perform.

Apple shares fell 0.68 percent to $165.83 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Eli Lilly and Co LLY reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and raised its FY 2018 guidance.



• Anthem Inc ANTM reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• Automatic Data Processing ADP posted upbeat earnings for its second quarter on Wednesday.



• Shutterfly, Inc. SFLY reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter earnings and issued a strong FY18 guidance. The company also reported the purchase of Lifetouch for $825 million.