A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. President Donald Trump was impeached in the sharply divided House of Representatives Wednesday on overwhelmingly partisan votes for what Democrats say was an effort to get Ukraine to investigate one of Trump's potential rivals in the 2020 election. Trump became the third president in U.S. history to get impeached after the Democratic-majority House voted on two articles alleging him of abuse of presidential power and obstruction of Congress. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for December and the current account for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Existing home sales report for November and the index of leading economic indicators for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 26 points to 28,307 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 0.70 points to 3,200.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 1 point to 8,621.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $66.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $60.98 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.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.3%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.1% and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.3%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.2%, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.29%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.30%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.01% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.28%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Bank of America upgraded Sealed Air Corporation SEE from Neutral to Buy.

Sealed Air shares rose 0.2% to close at $39.01 on Wednesday.

Breaking News

• Accenture plc ACN reported upbeat results for its first quarter.
• Conagra Brands, Inc. CAG reported upbeat earnings for its second quarter, but lowered its FY20 EPS guidance.
• Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings.
• Micron Technology, Inc. MU reported in-line earnings for its first quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.