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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several major companies. The FHFA house price index for April will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for February is schedule for release at 9:00 a.m. ET. Data on new home sales for March, the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for April and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 60 points to 20,756.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4 points to 2,373.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 10.75 points to 5,514.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.12 percent to trade at $51.66 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.10 percent to trade at $49.28 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.10 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.36 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.03 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.17 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.39 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.08 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.31 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.16 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.97 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Guggenheim upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM from Neutral to Buy.

JPMorgan shares rose 0.78 percent to $88.18 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Caterpillar Inc. CAT reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter and raised its FY17 adjusted earnings forecast.



• JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT reported downbeat earnings for its first quarter on Tuesday.



• Express Scripts Holding Company ESRX reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but sales missed expectations. The company also disclosed that its biggest customer Anthem Inc ANTM was unlikely to renew a services contract after it expires in 2019.