US Stock Futures Up; Salesforce.com Shares Drop In Pre-Market

US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 34 points to 11,773.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.50 points to 1,219.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.25 points to 2,271.50.

US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 1.13% to 11,770.73, the S&P 500 index declining 1.68% to 1,216.13 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 1.96% to 2,587.99.

The Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on October leading economic indicators at 1500 GMT. Economic Cycle Research Institute will also release its weekly index of economic activity.

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0.80 on revenue of $2.91 billion. ANN Inc (NYSE: ANN) is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.57 on revenue of $566.46 million.

Hibbett Sports Inc (NASDAQ: HIBB) is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.51 on revenue of $179.95 million. Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC) is expected to report its FQ1 EPS at $0.59 on revenue of $338.16 million.

Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) announced its plans to lift its quarterly dividend to $0.36 per share, from $0.31 per share.

Shares of Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) dipped about 7.1% in pre-market trading after the company swung to a loss in the fiscal third quarter.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (NYSE: DPS) announced a new $1 billion stock repurchase program. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share.

European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.59%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.34%, French CAC 40 index fell 1.36% and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.66%.

Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.2350%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.79% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 1.89%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.7337% and India's Sensex dropped 0.55%.

The euro rose 0.61% versus the dollar to trade at $1.3539, up from $1.3458 in North American trading late Thursday. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.53% to 77.87, versus 78.298.

Crude for December delivery climbed 0.7% to $99.51 per barrel.