A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Initial Jobless Claims, Producer Prices Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Producer Price Index for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 22 points to 27,946 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 3.15 points to 3,146.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 11.75 points to 8,417.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $64.20 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $59.04 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.1%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.2%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.5%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.14%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.31%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.42%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Starbucks Corporation SBUX from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $90 to $94.

Starbucks shares rose 1.8% to $88.18 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Lululemon Athletica Inc LULU reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, but issued soft earnings guidance for the fourth quarter.
• Assembly Biosciences Inc ASMB priced its 5.15 million common shares at $16.50 per share.
• Miragen Therapeutics Inc MGEN announced strategic changes. It will reduce its workforce by 18 employees.
• Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp TNXP announced a new European patent for composition and formulation of TNX-102 SL. The patent will provide the company with market exclusivity until 2034.