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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade.

Data on durable goods orders for December, initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philly Fed's manufacturing index for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The flash Composite Purchasing Managers' Index for February will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. Existing home sales report for January and the index of leading economic indicators for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Atlanta, GA at 7:50 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27 points to 25,991, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 2 points to 2,789.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 16.5 points to 7,089.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1 percent to trade at $67.14 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.5 percent to trade at $57.42 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.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.16 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.05 percent and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.4 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.6 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.1 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.15 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.41 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.13 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.4 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Longbow Research downgraded Garmin Ltd. GRMN from Buy to Neutral.

Garmin shares fell 1.3 percent to $82.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Hormel Foods Corp HRL reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed views.
• La Delphi Technologies PLC DLPH reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued weak FY19 outlook.
• Commscope Holding Company Inc COMM reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. The company said it sees full-year 2019 adjusted earnings of $3.35-$4.20 and sales of $9.2 billion-$9.5 billion.