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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on retail sales for January, and import and export prices for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for January will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while business inventories report for December and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25 points to 29,457 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 5.6 points to 3,383.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 26.75 points to 9,639.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.4% to trade at $57.11 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.2% to trade at $52.06 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.4%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.1%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.59%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.31%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.38% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.49%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays downgraded Yelp Inc. YELP from Equal-Weight to Underweight and announced a $30 price target.

Yelp shares fell 8.2% to $33.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Yelp Inc. YELP reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. The company added $250 million to its buyback and named David Schwarzbach as its new CFO.
• NVIDIA Corporation NVDA reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Ltd. has been charged with conspiracy for racketeering and stealing trade secrets in the United States.
• Expedia Group Inc EXPE reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday.