A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Manufacturing Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The final November manufacturing PMI for November will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing index for November and data on construction spending for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 68 points to 28,141 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 6.13 points to 3,150.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 13.75 points to 8,431.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 2.3% to trade at $61.88 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.3% to trade at $56.44 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.1%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.2% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.5%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.3%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.1%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.01%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.37%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.13% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.02%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK) from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $147 to $180.

Splunk shares rose 2.2% to $152.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Hostess Brands Inc (NASDAQ: TWNK) announced plans to buy Voortman Cookies from Swander Pace Capital for $320 million in cash.
• Cosmo Pharmaceuticals announced a worldwide exclusive distribution agreement for Eleview with Medtronic PLC (NYSE: MDT).
• Aphria Inc (NYSE: APHA) reported an $80 million financing of Aphria Diamond.
• Chromadex Corp (NASDAQ: CDXC) disclosed that it received Australian approval for its nicotinamide riboside chloride to be used in complementary medicines.