A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on housing starts for November and the current account report for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Roseville, Minnesota at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 37 points to 24,860.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.75 points to 2,696.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 0.75 points to 6,536.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.21 percent to trade at $63.54 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.51 percent to trade at $57.45 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.17 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.01 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.09 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.11 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.14 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.15 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.70 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.88 percent and India’s BSE Sensex jumped 0.70 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Instinet downgraded Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) from Buy to Neutral.

Apple shares fell 0.97 percent to $174.71 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Navistar International Corp (NYSE: NAV) reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter.
• FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS) posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter and issued a strong earnings forecast for FY 2018.
• Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• McDermott International Inc (NYSE: MDR) and Chicago Bridge & Iron Company N.V. (NYSE: CBI) announced plans to combine in a $6 billion deal.