US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Jobless Claims

US stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while factory orders data for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4 points to 16,744.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.10 points to 1,942.90. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 5.25 points to 3,988.25.

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.48%, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.55%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.13%, French CAC 40 Index declined 0.25% and London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.24%. The eurozone manufacturing PMI declined to 50.3 in September, versus a prior estimate of 50.5. German's manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.9 in September. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 2.61%.

Cowen & Company upgraded Autodesk

from Market Perform to Outperform. Autodesk's shares closed at $55.66 yesterday.