TGIF! Friday started with a bang after a turbulent week.
Asia shares skyrocketed with Europe following higher in early trading. Energy shares have jumped after oil had its best day in months, and U.S. stock futures are indicating a higher open.
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi’s pledge to continue do what it takes to help Europe’s economies on Thursday seems to have done the trick, for now.
Here are the five things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:
1. Oil: U.S. crude oil also continued its rebound, climbing to over $31 a barrel the day after it posted its biggest one-day percentage gain since late October.
2. International markets overview: European markets are up by more than 2% in early trading, led by shares in London and Paris. Asian markets were buoyed by the Nikkei which jumped 5.8%. The Hang Seng closed up 2.9% while shares in Shanghai closed 1.2% higher.
3. Stock market movers — Starbucks, Xilinx, Antofagasta: Starbucks is down 3% in premarket trading on the back of disappointing revenue numbers released on Thursday. Chip maker Xilinx jumped 9% in premarket trading on talk it might be a takeover target after unveiling stellar results. Chilean miner Antofagasta is up 7% in early London trading — the biggest mover of the commodity plays in the FTSE 100.
4. Earnings and economics: Before the opening bell, GE, Legg Mason, Sotheby’s, Citizens Financial and Sun Trust will report earnings.
The Eurozone Purchasing Manager’s Index came in lower than expected, indicating that Europe’s economies are starting the year slowly. The data might be more ammunition for the ECB to boost stimulus in March.
Finally, Wall Street will be watching for new data on existing home sales for December, which come out at 10 a.m. ET.
5. Thursday market recap: The Dow Jones industrial average ended 0.7% higher, while the S&P 500 closed up 0.5% and the Nasdaq was unchanged.
