A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on retail sales for August and import prices for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Industrial production report for July is schedule for release at 9:15 a.m. ET, while data on business inventories for July and the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for September will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans is set to speak in Fort Wayne, Indiana at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 43 points to 26,227.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 5 points to 2,915.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 27.25 points to 7,618.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.23 percent to trade at $78.36 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.5 percent to trade at $68.93 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the recent week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.09 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.25 percent and German DAX 30 index gained 0.29 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.34 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.35 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.20 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.01 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.18 percent and India’s BSE Sensex climbed 0.99 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Corning Incorporated GLW from Neutral to Buy and raises the price target from $32.50 to $40.

Corning shares rose 2.11 percent to $35.80 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Adobe Systems Incorporated ADBE reported upbeat results for its third quarter on Thursday.
• IRIDEX Corporation IRIX priced its 1.67 million share common stock offering at $6 per share.
• Radiant Logistics, Inc. RLGT reported stronger-than-expected results for its fourth quarter on Thursday.
• Sears Holdings Corp SHLD reported a Q2 net loss of $508 million, or $4.68 per share. Its sales dropped 25.6 percent to $3.18 billion, while same-store sales slipped 3.9 percent.