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

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mostly higher in early pre-market trade. International Business Machines Corp. IBM and American Express Company AXP will release earnings after the closing bell. Data on housing starts for December, the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for January and data on initial jobless claims for the recent week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester is set to speak in New York at 6:05 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 39 points to 26,137.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3.25 points to 2,807.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index slipped 2 points to 6,821.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.09 percent to trade at $69.44 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.13 percent to trade at $64.05 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, while the EIA’s weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.25 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.09 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.32 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.36 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.12 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.44 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.43 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.87 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.51 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Mizuho upgraded Lennar Corporation LEN from Neutral to Buy.

Lennar shares rose 2.81 percent to close at $70.71 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Morgan Stanley MS reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Thursday.



• KeyCorp KEY reported in-line earnings for its fourth quarter on Thursday. >



• PPG Industries, Inc. PPG posted stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.



• Alcoa Corp AA reported weaker-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Wednesday.