A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

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

Data on industrial production for March will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the housing market index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in El Paso, TX at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67 points to 26,440, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 6.25 points to 2,915.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 23 points to 7,670.75.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.1 percent to trade at $71.26 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.1 percent to trade at $63.31 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.1 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.2 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.7 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.3 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.01 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.24 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.07 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.39 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.95 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded Marathon Oil Corporation MRO from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $22 to $23.

Marathon Oil shares rose 0.1 percent to $17.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Johnson & Johnson JNJ reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
• Proteon Therapeutics Inc PRTO disclosed review of potential strategic transactions.
• Comerica Incorporated CMA reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings.
• UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.