A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several retailers. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for October is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to speak in New York at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 57 points to 23,452.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 5.50 points to 2,587.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 18.75 points to 6,334.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.19 percent to trade at $62.34 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.23 percent to trade at $56.55 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.20 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.28 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.48 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.14 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.45 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.70 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.91 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged 0.53 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.36 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies downgraded Cavium Inc CAVM from Buy to Hold.

Cavium shares rose 10.80 percent to close at $84.02 on Monday.

Breaking news

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.



• Hormel Foods Corp HRL reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.



• Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter and appointed Kathy Bonanno as new CFO.



• Medtronic plc. MDT reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter.