A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index for June and the current account for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index of leading economic indicators for May is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 207 points to 26,743.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 24.4 points to 2,957.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 93.8 points to 7,795.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 2.8 percent to trade at $63.54 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 3.5 percent to trade at $55.62 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.2 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.6 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.8 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.5 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.6 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.6 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.23 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.38 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.25 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded Hershey Co HSY from Neutral to Underweight and raised the price target from $122 to $125.

Hershey shares fell 0.3 percent to close at $137.90 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed views.
• Edesa Biotech, Inc. EDSA disclosed that it has received FDA approval to proceed with its US study of EB01 as a potential treatment for chronic allergic contact dermatitis..
• Commercial Metals Company CMC reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter.
• Carnival Corp CCL reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter, but lowered its FY19 earnings forecast.