A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Jump Ahead Of Earnings, Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on Gross Domestic Product report for the second quarter, U.S. international trade in goods for July, initial jobless claims for the latest week, retail and wholesale inventories for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for July is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 265 points to 26,302 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 28.2 points to 2,918.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 100.5 points to 7,699.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.2% to trade at $60.06 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.8% to trade at $56.24 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage for the latest week is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 1.2% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.3%. The UK’s FTSE index was trading higher by 1.1%, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.5%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.34%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1% and India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.02%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital downgraded Casey’s General Stores Inc (NASDAQ: CASY) from Sector Perform to Underperform and raised the price target from $144 to $158.

Casey’s shares fell 0.3% to $170.04 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Burlington Stores Inc (NYSE: BURL) reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and raised FY19 EPS forecast.
• Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter and raised FY19 outlook.
• Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter and raised guidance above analyst estimates.