A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida is set to speak at 8:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will speak at 9:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 11:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak at 12:45 p.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is set to speak at 1:20 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 91 points to 28,861 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 9.6 points to 3,269.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 36 points to 8,980.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.1% to trade at $65.49 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $59.73 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.4% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.2%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.5%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 2.31%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.68%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.91% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.55%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Macquarie upgraded TAL Education Group TAL from Neutral to Outperform.

TAL Education shares rose 1.7% to $52.55 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• AZZ Inc. AZZ reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.
• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. BBBY reported weaker-than-expected results for its third quarter. The company expects sales and profitability to remain pressured and withdrew its 2019 fiscal year guidance.
• Helen of Troy Limited HELE reported upbeat results for its third quarter and raised FY20 guidance.
• Mirati Therapeutics Inc MRTX reported a $250 million common stock offering.