A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Surge 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 the ADP national employment report for August is schedule for release at 8:15 a.m. ET. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and nonfarm productivity for the second quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for August is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on July factory orders and the ISM's non-manufacturing index for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 257 points to 26,629 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 27.8 points to 2,966.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 96 points to 7,818.75.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $60.78 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.2% to trade at $56.16 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.1%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.6% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.8%. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.7%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.9%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.12%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.03%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.96% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.22%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Papa John's Int'l, Inc. PZZA from Neutral to Outperform and raised the price target from $45 to $56.

Papa John's shares fell 0.3% to $48.02 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Signet Jewelers Ltd. SIG reported better-than-expected Q2 results.
• Lands' End, Inc. LE reported narrower-than-expected loss for its second quarter.
• Hooker Furniture Corporation HOFT reported weaket-than-expected results for its second quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and announced plans to acquire Zingbox for $75 million.