US Stock Futures Flat; Factory-Orders Data In Focus

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, ahead of factory-orders data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3 points to 12,773 and S&P 500 index futures fell 0.10 points to 1,357.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.75 points to 2,618.00.

US stocks closed mixed on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.07% to 12,871.39, the S&P 500 index rising 0.25% to 1,365.51 and the Nasdaq 100 index jumping 0.55% to 2,951.23.

Data on factory orders will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Auto makers are scheduled to report US sales figures for June.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced a $6.2 billion charge for the fourth quarter related to the company's acquisition of aQuantive in 2007.

Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) announced the departure of its Chief Financial Officer Neill Davis. Davis will join Francesca's Holdings (NASDAQ: FRAN) as President.

Shares of BrightPoint (NASDAQ: CELL) surged 66.54% yesterday after the company agreed to be bought by Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) for $650 million

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.46%, London's FTSE 100 Index surged 0.37%, French CAC 40 Index gained 0.20% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.73%.

Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.70%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.14% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.15%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 1.51% India's Sensex rose 0.15%.

Nymex crude-oil futures climbed $1.38 to $85.13 a barrel in electronic trade. However, gold futures gained $11.60 to $1,609.30 an ounce.

The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.02% to 81.88. The euro rose 0.1% against the dollar to trade at $1.2589.

The US dollar rose 0.5% versus the Japanese yen to trade at ¥79.83.

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