A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Higher Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Philly Fed manufacturing index for March, the Empire State manufacturing index for March and data on import prices for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The housing market index for March is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 50 points to 24,820.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.50 points to 2,751.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 2.50 points to 7,032.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.42 percent to trade at $65.16 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.61 percent to trade at $61.33 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.30 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.01 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.16 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.11 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.15 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.87 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.34 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.92 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.44 percent.


Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Macquarie downgraded Expedia Inc EXPE from Outperform to Neutral.

Expedia shares fell 1.62 percent to $111.44 in pre-market trading.


Breaking news


  • Dollar General Corp. DG reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a strong earnings forecast for FY18. The company’s same-store sales also exceeded expectations.


  • 3D Systems Corporation DDD reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.


  • Genesco Inc. GCO reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.


  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. Comps of the brand were up 5.4 percent in the quarter. The company also announced the addition of $500 million to its buyback plan and raised its quarterly dividend from 39 cents to 43 cents.


Posted In: NewsEurozoneFuturesGlobalPre-Market OutlookMarketsA Peek Into The MarketsMacquarieU.S. stock futures
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