A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The manufacturing PMI for February is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Golden Valley, Minn. at 8:50 a.m. ET, while Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker will speak in Philadelphia at 12:00 p.m. ET. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is set to speak in Boise, Id. at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 70 points to 20,658.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 5 points to 2,353.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 11 points to 5,337.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures gained 1.57 percent to trade at $57.06 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 1.67 percent to trade at $54.68 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.19 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.31 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.58 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.16 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.30 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.68 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.76 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.41 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.35 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Bloomin' Brands Inc BLMN from Overweight to Neutral.

Bloomin Brands shares fell 0.80 percent to $18.71 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.



• Home Depot Inc HD reported upbeat results for its fourth quarter.



• Delta Natural Gas Company, Inc. DGAS agreed to be acquired by Peoples Gas for $30.50 per share in cash.



• Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc LL reported a narrower-than-expected loss for its fourth quarter.