A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Gross Domestic Product report for the third quarter, data on wholesale inventories for October and the international trade report for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. New home sales report for October and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak in New York at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 83 points to 24,825, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 7.5 points to 2,691.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 26.5 points to 6,739.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.43 percent to trade at $59.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures slipped 0.14 percent to trade at $51.49 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. 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 rising 0.21 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.10 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.05 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.22 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.25 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.02 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.33 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.05 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.45 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Eaton Vance Corp EV from Neutral to Underweight.

Eaton Vance shares fell 1.58 percent to close at $41.19 on Tuesday.

Breaking News

• Tiffany & Co. TIF reported in-line earnings for its third quarter, while sales missed views.
• Weibo Corp WB reported upbeat results for its third quarter.
• SINA Corp SINA posted better-than-expected results for its third quarter.
• salesforce.com, inc. CRM reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter and raised full-year 2019 guidance.