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. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the manufacturing PMI for December is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 164 points to 28,672 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 17.9 points to 3,249.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 60.25 points to 8,812.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to trade at $66.32 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.3% to trade at $61.21 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.5%, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.8%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.76%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.25%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.15% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.78%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity downgraded Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE: BMI) from Hold to Sell and announced a $50 price target.

Badger Meter shares fell 1.2% to $64.15 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Co-Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ: CODX) and CoSara announced plans to launch IVD products in India market.
• Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: AERI) announced acceptance for review of Roclanda 0.02%/0.005% marketing authorization application in Europe.
• Aridis Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ARDS) named Michael A. Nazak as CFO.
• Xiaomi Corp (OTC: XIACF) announced plans to invest over $7 billion in 5G and artificial internet of things.