US Stock Futures Up; Hewlett-Packard Shares Drop In Pre-Market Trading

US stock futures are higher this morning, ahead of economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 32 points to 13,188.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 3.30 points to 1,415.60. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 6 points to 2,787.25. US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.23% to 13,172.76, the S&P 500 index rising 0.02% to 1,413.49 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.21% to 3,073.67. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and the Markit flash PMI for August will be released at 8:55 a.m. ET. Data on July new-home-sales will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Big Lots

is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $1.24 billion. Hormel Foods

is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.41 on revenue of $2.01 billion. Signet Jewelers Limited

is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.83 on revenue of $853.83 million. Fred's

is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.18 on revenue of $466.80 million. salesforce.com

is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $0.39 per share on revenue of $728.25 million. Autodesk

is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $0.49 on revenue of $593.40 million. Shoe Carnival

is estimated to post its Q2 EPS at $0.11 on revenue of $182.12 million. Patterson Companies

is projected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.49 on revenue of $883.53 million. Bebe Stores

is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.03 on revenue of $128.40 million. Guess'

issued a downbeat forecast for the full year. Shares of Hewlett-Packard Company

dropped 5.36% in pre-market trading after the company posted a third-quarter loss. The company reported its FQ3 adjusted earnings at $1 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $0.98 per share. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.08%, French CAC 40 index gained 0.39%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.39% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.16%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.51%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.25% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.19%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.23% and India's Sensex rose 0.02%. Nymex crude-oil futures gained $0.76 to trade at $98.02 a barrel in electronic trade, while gold futures surged $24.80 to $1,665.50 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.15% to 81.39, versus 81.475 in North American trade late Wednesday. The euro gained 0.22% versus the dollar to trade at $1.2556, up from $1.2535. The US dollar gained to ¥78.54 yen, versus ¥78.43 on Wednesday.