A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher; Crude Oil Rises

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of Donald Trump’s inaugural address as the nation’s President. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Harker is set to speak in Somerset, N.J. at 9:00 a.m. ET, while San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John C. Williams will speak in San Francisco, Calif. at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 8 points to 19,701.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.25 points to 2,265.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 12.25 points to 5,065.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.42 percent to trade at $54.93 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also rose 1.25 percent to trade at $52.77 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.17 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.15 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.05 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.01 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.05 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.34 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.71 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.70 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at KeyBanc upgraded Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ from Sector Weight to Overweight.

Domino's shares rose 0.28 percent to close at $166.04 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• General Electric Company GE reported in-line earnings for its latest quarter, but sales missed expectations.



• International Business Machines Corp. IBM reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued a strong forecast for FY 2017.



• SunTrust Banks, Inc. STI reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter.



• American Express Company AXP reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday.