A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data, Fed Speakers

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak in New Brunswick, NJ at 8:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to testify before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee in Washington at 10:00 a.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will speak in Phoenix, Arizona at 1:50 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 66 points to 23,877.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 2.25 points to 2,628.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 2.75 points to 6,423.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.94 percent to trade at $63.01 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures declined 0.78 percent to trade at $57.54 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.38 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.78 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.96 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.58 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.57 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.49 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.19 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.13 percent and India’s BSE Sensex declined 0.05 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT from Underperform to Sector Perform.

Wal-Mart shares rose 0.25 percent to $97.01 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Royal Bank of Canada RY reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and also announced retirement of Group Chief Risk Officer, Mark Hughes.



• Marvell Technology Group Ltd. MRVL reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and issued a strong forecast for the fourth quarter.



• Scorpio Tankers Inc. STNG reported a 30 million offering of common shares. Scorpio Services Limited expressed interest to buy at least $20 million of the offering.



• Autodesk, Inc. ADSK reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter, but issued a weak FY18 guidance. The company also announced plans to lay off around 1,150 employees.