A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago PMI for December is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 183 points to 23,336.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 21.5 points to 2,516.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 44.75 points to 6,367.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.48 percent to trade at $52.93 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 2.15 percent to trade at $45.57 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, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.36 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 1.86 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 1.84 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.87 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.90 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.31 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.1 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.44 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.75 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at DZ Bank upgraded Adobe Inc ADBE from Hold to Buy.

Adobe shares fell 0.12 percent to $224.86 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Aphria Inc APHA shares jumped around 18 percent in pre-market trading amid rumors that Green Growth Brands is said to plan a hostile offer for the company.
• Addvantage Technologies AEY announced plans to sell its cable TV segment operations to Leveling 8 for $10.8 million.
• Opko Health Inc. OPK reported that CEO and Chairman Philip Frost announced a proposed resolution of SEC action. The CEO has agreed to pay a $5.5 million fine to the SEC and will remain and Co-Chairman and CEO.
• HTG Molecular Diagnostics Inc HTGM filed for a $150 million common stock shelf offering.