A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The current account report for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on existing home sales for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak at the 2018 ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra Portugal at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 125 points to 24,840.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 9.50 points to 2,775.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 25 points to 7,278.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.23 percent to trade at $74.91 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.09 percent to trade at $65.01 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. 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 gaining 1.03 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.82 percent and German DAX 30 index rising 0.51 percent. The UK’s FTSE index was trading higher by 1.23 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.40 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.24 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.77 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.27 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.74 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank upgraded Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) from Hold to Buy..

Citigroup shares rose 1.21 percent to $67.60 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Oracle Corp (NYSE: ORCL) reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter, but issued weak guidance for the first quarter.
• Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO) reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter.
• Anika Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ANIK) shares fell around 21 percent in pre-market trading after reporting top-line results from CINGAL 16-02 clinical trial in knee osteoarthritis study did not achieve statistical significance at primary endpoint.
• La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter, while sales missed estimates.