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 housing market index for December is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 149 points to 24,826.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 10 points to 2,692.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 37.25 points to 6,535.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.13 percent to trade at $63.31 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.28 percent to trade at $57.46 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.70 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.93 percent and German DAX 30 index climbing 1.61 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.43 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.21 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.55 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.70 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.05 percent and India’s BSE Sensex jumped 0.41 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at BMO Capital upgraded Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) from Market Perform to Outperform.

Costco shares rose 3.32 percent to close at $192.73 on Friday.

Breaking news

• Hershey Co (NYSE: HSY) announced plans to acquire Amplify Snack Brands Inc (NYSE: BETR) for $12 per share in cash.
• Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is in advanced talks to acquire home-care provider Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) in a deal that would value the company at $9.00 per share, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• STRATA Skin Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: SSKN) announced plans to explore strategic alternatives including sale of the company.
• Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) disclosed that the company has been granted orphan drug designation for the treatment to C3 Glomerulopathy by the FDA.