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 Empire State manufacturing index for March is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on industrial production for February will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March and the Labor Department's JOLTS report for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 128 points to 25,871, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 14 points to 2,826.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 46 points to 7,313.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4 percent to trade at $66.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.02 percent to trade at $58.60 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.2 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.7 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 1 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.7 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 1.1 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.77 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.56 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.04 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.71 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. MLNX from Buy to Hold.

Mellanox shares fell 0.1 percent to $117.95 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Buckle Inc BKE reported weaker-than-expected sales for its fourth quarter .
• BioScrip Inc BIOS announced plans to merge with Option Care. The company also reported a wider-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.
• Adobe Inc ADBE reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter, but issued weak earnings outlook for the second quarter.
• Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for its fourth quarter.