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 motor vehicle sales for February will be released today. Data on construction spending for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 70 points to 26,105.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 7.5 points to 2,812.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 31.5 points to 7,188.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.9 percent to trade at $65.62 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.6 percent to trade at $56.11 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.1 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.4 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.2 percent. The UK’s FTSE index was trading higher by 0.7 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.6 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.02 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.51 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.12 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.55 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Pivotal Research upgraded Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) from Hold to Buy and raises the price target from $64 to $73.

Foot Locker shares rose 5.96 percent to close at $63.07 on Friday.

Breaking News

• Nightstar Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ: NITE) agreed to be acquired by Biogen Inc (NASDAQ: BIIB) for $25.50 per share in cash.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) announced plans to acquire Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group’s global aerospace operations.
• Office Depot, Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) and Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) announced a collaboration to sell B2B e-commerce online.
• Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ: TNXP) reported a buyback of up to $2 million.