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 Chicago Fed National Activity Index for November is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. U.S. markets will be closed Tuesday for the Christmas holiday.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 82 points to 22,489.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 12 points to 2,425.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 48.5 points to 6,106.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.06 percent to trade at $53.79 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.31 percent to trade at $45.45 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.58 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.41 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.21 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.47 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.04 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.11 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.40 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.43 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.76 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded RPM International Inc. RPM from Neutral to Underweight and lowered the price target from $60 to $55.

RPM shares dropped 1.34 percent to close at $58.38 on Friday.

Breaking News

• Ares Management Corp ARES reported the acquisition of three Texas wind farms.
• General Atlantic and KKR KKR are in talks to acquire EuroKids Preschool chains in India, Economic Times reported.
• Maxar Technologies Ltd MAXR disclosed that it has received approval from bank lenders to amend credit deal. The company also confirmed it is continuing to explore strategic alternatives for its GEO communications satellite line of business.
• Catalyst Biosciences Inc CBIO disclosed a $200 million mixed securities offering.