US Stock Futures Rise; Jobless Claims Report In Focus

US stock futures slipped in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while consumer credit data for June will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 33 points to 16,428.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.10 points to 1,919.90. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 6.25 points to 3,875.00.

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.36%, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.06%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.01%, French CAC 40 Index tumbled 0.31% and London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.13%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.48%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.80%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.34% and India's Sensex fell 0.30%.

Analysts at Cowen & Company upgraded 21st Century Fox

from Underperform to Market Perform. The target price for 21st Century Fox has been raised from $29.00 to $35.00. 21st Century Fox's shares gained 4.30% to $33.72 in pre-market trading.