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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on import and export prices for August and retail sales for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for September and data on business inventories for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113 points to 27,297 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10.5 points to 3,024.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 32.25 points to 7,974.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to trade at $60.22 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.1% to trade at $55.04 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.7%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.2% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.1%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.5%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.4%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.05%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.98%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.75% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.76%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Advance Auto Parts, Inc. AAP from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $156 to $188.

Advance Auto Parts shares rose 1.1% to $156.87 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc CPRX shares climbed over 12% in pre-market trading following news public offering of common stock was cancelled.
• Broadcom Inc AVGO reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter, but left its guidance unchanged.
• Fibrocell Science Inc FCSC agreed to be acquired by Castle Creek Pharmaceutical for an all-cash consideration of $3 per share.
• ViewRay, Inc. VRAY reported a collaboration agreement with Stanford Health Care.