A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; Eldorado Resorts to Acquire Caesars Entertainment

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for May is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for June will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44 points to 26,741, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.4 points to 2,955.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 13.25 points to 7,764.75.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures fell 1.1 percent to trade at $64.46 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.8 percent to trade at $57.86 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.4 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.2 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.6 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.1 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.2 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.13 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.14 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.21 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.18 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Deere & Company DE from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $150 to $190.

Deere shares rose 1.1 percent to $166.13 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Eldorado Resorts Inc ERI announced plans to acquire Caesars Entertainment Corporation CZR for $18 billion in cash and stock.
• Lightinthebox Holding Co Ltd-ADR LITB reported a Q1 net loss of $14.1 million, versus a year-ago net loss of $7.9 million. Its net revenue fell 27.4% year-over-year to $50.9 million.
• US Ecology, Inc. ECOL announced plans to acquire NRC Group Holdings Corp. NRCG for $12 per share in US Ecology stock.
• Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. ARLP announced plans to acquire Permian Basin oil and gas mineral interests from Wing Resources for $145 million in cash.