A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB), J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) and Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST). Data on housing starts and permits for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on industrial production for December will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for January and the Labor Department's JOLTS report for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker is set to speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles will speak at 12:15 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 72 points to 29,312 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 7.35 points to 3,323.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 32.5 points to 9,166.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.7% to trade at $65.10 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.7% to trade at $58.92 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is scheduled for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.2%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.8% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.6%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.8%, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.8%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.45%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.60%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.05% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.03%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup upgraded QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $89 to $108.

Qualcomm shares rose 1.8% to $93.40 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
• Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG) reported upbeat fourth-quarter results and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.36 to $0.39 per share
• CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX) reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• Progress Software Corp (NASDAQ: PRGS) reported better-than-expected Q4 results. The company also announced an increase in buyback authorization from $75 million to $250 million.