A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Gain; Facebook Earnings Top Views

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week, U.S. international trade in goods, durable goods orders for June and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for July will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 18 points to 21,664, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 4.25 points to 2,477.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 32.50 points to 5,980.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.51 percent to trade at $50.71 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.59 percent to trade at $48.46 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.01 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index slipping 0.03 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.46 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.03 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.07 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.15 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.71 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.06 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.01 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Rockwell Automation ROK from Underweight to Neutral.

Rockwell Automation shares fell 0.20 percent to close at $162.78 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Procter & Gamble Co PG reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter.



• United Parcel Service, Inc. UPS posted upbeat earnings for its second quarter on Thursday.



• Twitter Inc TWTR reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter. Monthly active users rose 5 percent year-over-year, while daily active users gained 12 percent year-over-year.



• Facebook Inc FB reported stronger-than-expected results for its second quarter on Wednesday.