A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for March is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed general activity index for April will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari is set to speak in Los Angeles, California at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 201 points to 20,704.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 25.50 points to 2,373.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 56.25 points to 5,498.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.64 percent to trade at $52.29 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.67 percent to trade at $49.95 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 3.32 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 2.04 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 3.02 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 1.74 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 4.51 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.37 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.41 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.37 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.99 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Xilinx, Inc. XLNX from Neutral to Outperform.

Xilinx shares rose 2.18 percent to $58.95 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Halliburton Company HAL reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Monday.



• Becton Dickinson and Co BDX announced plans to acquire C R Bard Inc BCR for $24 billion.



• Hasbro, Inc. HAS reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Monday.



• Kimberly Clark Corp KMB posted better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Monday.