A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Wells Fargo Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Wells Fargo & Co WFC. The Consumer Price Index for September and data on retail sales for September will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for August and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget report for September is schedule for release at 2:00 p.m. ET. Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren is set to speak in Boston at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans will speak in Green Bay, Wisconsin at 10:25 a.m. ET. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan is set to speak in Boston at 11:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell will speak in Boston at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 15 points to 22,813.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1 point to 2,550.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 3.50 points to 6,078.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 2.24 percent to trade at $57.51 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 1.94 percent to trade at $51.58 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.04 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.29 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.08 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.32 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.03 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.96 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.06 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.13 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.78 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays upgraded General Motors Company GM from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

GM shares rose 0.94 percent to $45.31 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Bank of America Corp BAC posted stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter.



• Exfo Inc EXFO reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Thursday.



• PNC Financial Services Group Inc PNC reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter on Friday.



• Spark Therapeutics Inc ONCE disclosed that an FDA panel has unanimously recommended approval of its LUXTURNA.