A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Climb; Facebook Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Facebook Inc FB, QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM and Tesla Inc TSLA will release earnings after the closing bell. Data on motor vehicle sales for October will be released today. The ADP national employment report for October will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET, while the manufacturing PMI for October is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for October and Data on construction spending for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 132 points to 23,457.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 11 points to 2,583.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 27.25 points to 6,277.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.69 percent to trade at $61.32 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 1.29 percent to trade at $55.08 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.36 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.64 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.60 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.15 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.48 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.86 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.23 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.08 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 1.17 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded American Airlines Group Inc AAL from Neutral to Overweight.

American Airlines shares rose 2.09 percent to $47.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Allergan plc AGN posted better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Wednesday.



• Estee Lauder Companies Inc EL reported upbeat results for its third quarter and raised its FY guidance.



• Thomson Reuters Corp TRI reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its third quarter, while sales slightly missed views.



• Electronic Arts Inc. EA posted a Q2 GAAP EPS of $(0.07). Sales were significantly down year over year at $959 million, down from $1.18 billion in the second quarter of 2016. The company also issued a weak sales guidance for the holiday quarter.