A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. The NYSE will close early at 1 p.m. ET today. Markets will remain closed on Christmas Day, December 25. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points to 28,570 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 2.6 points to 3,229.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 6 points to 8,732.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $65.61 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $60.64 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

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

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.04%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.15%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.67% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital downgraded AquaVenture Holdings Limited (NYSE: WAAS) from Outperform to Sector Perform.

AquaVenture shares rose 24.5% to close at $27.10 on Monday.

Breaking News

• WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC) confirmed a proposal to purchase Anixter International Inc. .(NYSE: AXE) at $90 per share.
• Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPW) announced £1.5 billion acquisition of 30 UK hospital facilities.
• LightInTheBox Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: LITB) announced up to $3 million share repurchase program.
• CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE: CVM) reported a common stock offering. However, size of the offering was not disclosed.