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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Mastercard Inc MA, Kellogg Company K, Electronic Arts Inc. EA and United States Steel Corporation X. The Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day policy meeting today. The employment cost index for the third quarter is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index for August is schedule for release at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for October will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for October is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 33 points to 23,324.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3.75 points to 2,572.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 14.75 points to 6,239.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.16 percent to trade at $60.80 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures declined 0.20 percent to trade at $54.04 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.97 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.22 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.09 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.07 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.10 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.01 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.32 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.09 percent and India’s BSE Sensex dropped 0.16 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. MRK from Underperform to Hold.

Merck shares rose 0.99 percent to $55.25 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Aetna Inc AET posted better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Tuesday.



• Pfizer Inc. PFE reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter and raised its 2017 guidance.



• Under Armour Inc UA reported weaker-than-expected revenue for its third quarter lowered its 2017 forecast.



• Archer Daniels Midland Company ADM reported downbeat results for its third quarter.