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. The ADP national employment report for January is scheduled for release at 8:15 a.m. ET, while data on international trade for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. US Services Purchasing Managers' Index for January is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the ISM's non-manufacturing index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 250 points to 29,039 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 25.5 points to 3,325.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 85 points to 9,440.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 2.8% to trade at $55.48 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.6% to trade at $50.88 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.7%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.2%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.8%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.9%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.49%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.21%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.34% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.87%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Summit Insights Group downgraded Seagate Technology plc STX from Hold to Sell.

Seagate shares fell 1.6% to $58.01 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Walker & Dunlop, Inc. WD reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.
• Walt Disney Co DIS reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter and topped 26 million subscribers for its new Disney+ streaming service.
• Ford Motor Company F reported worse-than-expected Q4 results.
• Prudential Financial Inc PRU reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.