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. Data on existing home sales for October and the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 55 points to 18,966.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 5.75 points to 2,199.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 22.25 points to 4,876.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.04 percent to trade at $48.88 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.19 percent to trade at $48.15 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.61 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.51 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.65 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.80 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.81 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.31 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 1.43 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.94 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.76 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus downgraded C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRW) from Buy to Hold.

C.H. Robinson shares fell 0.04 percent to close at $74.37 on Monday.

Breaking news

• Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE: PANW) reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but revenue missed expectations. The company also issued a weak forecast for the current quarter.
• Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported better-than-expected profit for its third quarter on Tuesday.
• Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ: JACK) reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter. The company’s comparable-store sales rose 0.5 percent for the quarter.