A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter, U.S. international trade in goods for February and wholesale inventories for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for February is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic is set to speak in Atlanta at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68 points to 23,928.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 6.75 points to 2,621.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 9.50 points to 6,570.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.31 percent to trade at $69.89 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.70 percent to trade at $64.79 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.37 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.49 percent and German DAX 30 index falling 0.72 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.11 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.84 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.34 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 2.50 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1.40 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.62 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Wells Fargo upgraded Rockwell Automation Inc. ROK from Market Perform to Outperform.

Rockwell Automation shares fell 2.17 percent to close at $173.21 on Tuesday.

Breaking news

• Primoris Services Corporation PRIM announced plans to buy Willbros Group, Inc. WG for $0.60 per share in cash.



• Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. WBA reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised its FY18 earnings guidance.



• BlackBerry Limited BB reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings for its fourth quarter.



• RH RH reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter and issued strong FY2018 earnings guidance.