A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of CPI, Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers

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

The Consumer Price Index for March will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for March is schedule for release at 2:00 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak in Leesburg, Virginia, while Federal Reserve Board of Governors Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles will speak in Washington, DC. at 11:50 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Houston, TX at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70 points to 26,228.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 8 points to 2,890.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 18.5 points to 7,610.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5 percent to trade at $70.95 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.7 percent to trade at $64.40 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.3 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.3 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.4 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.1 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.4 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.53 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.13 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.07 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.91 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at UBS upgraded Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $75 to $77.

Gilead shares rose 1.4 percent to $67.02 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Wednesday.
• Simulations Plus, Inc. SLP reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• MSC Industrial Direct Co Inc MSM reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Polarityte Inc PTE reported a common stock offering. The size was not disclosed.