A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up; Crude Oil Falls Over 1%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago PMI for September is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for September will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 59 points to 26,855 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 7.7 points to 2,971.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 30 points to 7,731.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $60.37 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.1% to trade at $55.29 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.1% and German DAX 30 index rising 0.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.2%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.56%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.53%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.92% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.4%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital upgraded Cigna Corporation CI from Market Perform to Outperform.

Cigna shares rose 1.7% to $152.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Colony Capital, Inc. CLNY announced it would sell its industrial real estate portfolio to Blackstone for $5.9 billion.
• Mallinckrodt plc MNK shares climbed over 6% in pre-market trading after the company announced it settled opioid cases in Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio.
• Dova Pharmaceuticals, Inc, DOVA agreed to be acquired by Orphan Biovitrum for $29 per share.
• Thor Industries, Inc. THO reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but sales missed views.