US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Empire State manufacturing index for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on industrial production for April will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 19.50 points to 18,221.50, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.45 points to 2,119.95. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 12.15 points to 4,502.40.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.09 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.52 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.35 percent. French CAC 40 Index rose 0.48 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.44 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.83 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.59 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.96 percent and India's BSE Sensex climbed 0.43 percent.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded

from Buy to Neutral and raised the price target from $101.00 to $119.00. UPS shares rose 1.24 percent to $101.92 in pre-market trading.