A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings reports from companies.

Data on durable goods orders for September, international trade in goods for September, initial jobless claims for the recent week and wholesale inventories for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for October will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board of Governors Vice Chairman Richard Clarida is set to speak in Washington, D.C. at 12:15 p.m. ET, while Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will speak in New York, NY at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 168 points to 24,784.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded gained 21 points to 2,685.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 93 points to 6,927.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.28 percent to trade at $76.38 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.07 percent to trade at $66.87 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.13 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.33 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.51 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.08 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.42 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 3.72 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.01 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.02 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.01 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Bank of America downgraded United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS from Buy to Neutral.

UPS shares fell 0.04 percent to $107.89 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Southwest Airlines Co BA reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter.
• Twitter Inc GD reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter.
• Comcast Corporation CMCSA reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. MRK reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY18 earnings guidance. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.48 per share to $0.55 per share and added $10 billion to its buyback plan.