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.

Data on personal income and consumer spending for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Chicago PMI for March is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for February and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in St. Thomas, USVI at 9:25 a.m. ET, while Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles is set to speak in New York at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 109 points to 25,846, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 11.75 points to 2,832.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 35 points to 7,387.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.1 percent to trade at $68.59 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.4 percent to trade at $60.12 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 0.7 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.4 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.4 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.3 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.6 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.82 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.96 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.2 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.42 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc RH from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $185 to $124.

RH shares fell 15 percent to $112.26 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• BlackBerry Ltd BB reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Science Applications International Corp SAIC reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and raised its quarterly dividend from 31 cents to 37 cents.
• Restoration Hardware Holdings, Inc RH reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates. The company also lowered its full-year outlook.
• Wells Fargo & Co WFC CEO Tim Sloan is leaving the C-suite at a bank that has faced accusations of predatory lending, the creation of fraudulent customer savings and checking accounts and the forced sale of auto insurance to loan clients. Sloan is retiring effective June 30 and is stepping down immediately from his roles as CEO, president and board member, Wells Fargo said in a Thursday afternoon statement.