A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Surge, All Eyes On Jobs Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for October, and the international trade report for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 290 points to 25,615.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 22.9 points to 2,761.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 13 points to 7,090.50.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.29 percent to trade at $73.10 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.17 percent to trade at $63.58 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 0.9 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.99 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 1.43 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.82 percent, while French CAC 40 Index jumped 1.30 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.56 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 4.21 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 2.7 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.68 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Verisign, Inc. VRSN from Underweight to Neutral and raised the price target from $125 to $160.

VeriSign shares rose 6.86 percent to $150.46 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• Apple Inc. AAPL reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued disappointing sales guidance for the holiday period.
• Metlife Inc MET reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and reported a $2 billion stock buyback plan.
• Kraft Heinz Co KHC reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Thursday.