A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise; Crude Oil Up Over 7%

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Vienna. The ADP national employment report for November is schedule for release at 8:15 a.m. ET, while data on personal income and consumer spending for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for November is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board Gov. Jerome Powell will speak in Washington, D.C. at 9:15 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell is set to speak at 11:45 a.m. ET. Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Loretta Mester will speak at 12:35 p.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will release its latest Beige Book report at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 41 points to 19,156.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 5.75 points to 2,209.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 4.50 points to 4,879.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 7.48 percent to trade at $48.75 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also climbed 7.78 percent to trade at $48.75 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.22 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.43 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.34 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.99 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.70 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.01 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.23 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.98 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $180.00 to $255.00.

Goldman Sachs shares rose 0.62 percent to $213.06 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• GoPro Inc (NASDAQ: GPRO) announced plans to reduce workforce by 15 percent. The company estimates $24 million to $33 million charge in restructuring for the fourth quarter.
• Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK) reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY17 revenue outlook.
• Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) reported upbeat results for its third quarter, but issued a weak outlook for the fourth quarter.
• Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE: ZAYO) announced plans to acquire Electric Lightwave for $1.42 billion in cash.