A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for February is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for March will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley is set to speak in Washington at 12:30 p.m. ET, while Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will speak in Princeton, NJ at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 309 points to 23,921.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 35.25 points to 2,633.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 81.75 points to 6,636.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.03 percent to trade at $70.43 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.18 percent to trade at $65.76 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.46 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.45 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.60 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.50 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.40 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.72 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.79 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.60 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.44 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stephens & Co. upgraded Darden Restaurants, Inc. DRI from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

Darden shares fell 1.97 percent to close at $84.25 on Friday.

Breaking news

• JD Sports Fashion announced plans to acquire Finish Line Inc FINL for $13.50 per share in cash.



• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALNY disclosed that it has received European Medicines Agency PRIME designation for accelerated assessment of lumasiran.



• argenx SE ARGX reported the orphan drug designation for ARGX-113 for the treatment of myasthenia gravis in Europe.



• Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. PTI filed for up to a $50 million offering.