A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for June will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 111 points to 24,583.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 12.50 points to 2,765.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 27.25 points to 7,264.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.23 percent to trade at $73.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.11 percent to trade at $66.27 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 0.79 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.74 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.31 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.73 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.71 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.78 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.15 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.49 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.73 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at DZ Bank downgraded Eli Lilly and Company LLY from Buy to Hold..

Eli Lilly shares fell 0.24 percent to close at $86.07 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• BlackBerry Ltd BB reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



 
• Red Hat Inc RHT reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter, but lowered its revenue forecast for the full year. The company announced a $1 billion buyback.



 
• Smart Global Holdings Inc SGH reported upbeat results for its third quarter and issued strong sales outlook for the current quarter.



 
• WillScot Corp WSC announced plans to acquire ModSpace for an enterprise value of $1.1 billion.