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 SLB, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. JBHT and Fastenal Company 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 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 RF reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.
• Citizens Financial Group, Inc. CFG reported upbeat fourth-quarter results and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.36 to $0.39 per share
• CSX Corporation CSX reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.
• Progress Software Corp PRGS reported better-than-expected Q4 results. The company also announced an increase in buyback authorization from $75 million to $250 million.