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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on motor vehicle sales for February will be released today. Data on personal income and consumer spending for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Markit PMI manufacturing data for February is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for February and construction spending data for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Dallas, Texas at 12:30 p.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard will speak at the Kennedy School at Harvard University at 6:00 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its Beige book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 90 points to 20,897.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 11.75 points to 2,374.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 27 points to 5,359.25.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures gained 0.28 percent to trade at $56.67 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.22 percent to trade at $54.13 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.70 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.10 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.37 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.08 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.58 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.44 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.15 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.16 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.84 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wunderlich downgraded Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $190.00 to $150.00.

Palo Alto shares fell 19.7 percent to $122.00 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter and issued strong sales outlook for 2017.



• salesforce.com, inc. CRM reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak outlook for the current quarter.



• Best Buy Co Inc BBY reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but sales missed estimates. The company also issued weak earnings forecast for the current quarter.



• Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW posted upbeat Q2 earnings, but sales missed expectations. The company also issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.