US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of GDP, Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on Q1 GDP growth and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 15 points to 16,643.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.10 points to 1,910.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 2.75 points to 3,718.75.

European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.29%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.04%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.01%, French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.09% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.32%. French producer prices declined 0.1% in April versus March, while consumer spending slipped 0.3% in April versus a 0.6% growth in March. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 0.07%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.30%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.47% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 1.31%.

Analysts at Sterne Agee upgraded Dollar Tree

from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Dollar Tree has been raised from $54 to $61. Dollar Tree's shares closed at $52.78 yesterday.