A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of ADP Report

Pre-open movers

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

The ADP national employment report for March is schedule for release at 8:15 a.m. ET, while US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for March will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM's non-manufacturing index for March is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Washington, D.C. at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak in Fargo, North Dakota at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 110 points to 26,263, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 14 points to 2,881.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 40.75 points to 7,560.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5 percent to trade at $69.68 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2 percent to trade at $62.68 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.1 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.6 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 1.2 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.1 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.6 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.97 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.22 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.24 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.46 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at DA Davidson upgraded Urban Outfitters, Inc. URBN from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $30 to $36.

Urban Outfitters shares rose 1.9 percent to $31.24 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• GameStop Corp. GME reported downbeat sales for its fourth quarter and issued weak guidance for the fiscal year.
• Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.
• Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc PLAY reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. The company also added $200 million to its buyback plan.
• Bilibili Inc – ADR BILI priced its 11.47 million ADS offering at $18 per ADS.