A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Challenger job-cut report for August is schedule for release at 7:30 a.m. ET, while data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and non-farm productivity for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Markit PMI manufacturing data for August is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for August and Data on construction spending for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in Lexington, Kentucky at 12:25 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 36 points to 18,431.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3.50 points to 2,173.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 13.50 points to 4,787.00.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures declined 0.13 percent to trade at $46.83 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 0.11 percent to trade at $44.75 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.69 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.88 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.57 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.09 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.10 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.23 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.81 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.72 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.10 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Nomura Holdings, Inc. (ADR) NMR from Underperform to Hold.

Nomura shares gained 1.74 percent to close at $4.68 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Joy Global Inc JOY delivered lower than expected results for the third quarter. The company reported net income of $128,000, or $0.01 a share, sharply down from $51.34 million, or $0.53 a share, in the year-ago quarter. On an adjusted basis, it would have earned $0.10 a share thus missing the Street estimates of $0.12 a share. To read the full news, click here.



• salesforce.com, inc. CRM reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, but issued a weak forecast for the current quarter. To read the full news, click here.



• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported lower than expected sales for the fourth quarter. The company delivered net sales of $35.7 billion for the fourth quarter compared to $35.0 billion in the previous year quarter representing an increase of 2 percent. However, this is below the Street estimates of $37.19 billion. Its comparable store sales were flat. To read the full news, click here.



• Ciena Corporation CIEN delivered better than estimated adjusted earnings for the third quarter. However, its revenue fell shy of estimates. To read the full news, click here.