A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product report for the third quarter, and personal income and consumer spending for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for December is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for December will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 24 points to 28,425 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 1.3 points to 3,213.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 7.5 points to 8,681.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.4% to trade at $66.27 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.5% to trade at $60.89 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.3%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.5% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.6%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.2%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.5%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.29%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.30%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.01% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.1%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded Lear Corporation (NYSE: LEA) from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised the price target from $129 to $161.

Lear shares rose 0.6% to close at $141.58 on Thursday.

Breaking News

• Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Thursday.
• AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR) reported better-than-expected Q2 EPS and sales results.
• Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KNX) lowered its Q4 EPS guidance below analyst estimates.
• Scholastic Corp (NASDAQ: SCHL) reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.