A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Climb After Amazon, Alphabet Results

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM, Chevron Corporation CVX and Phillips 66 PSX. A report on U.S. Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter is schedule for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 43 points to 23,392.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 6 points to 2,567.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 31.50 points to 6,116.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.39 percent to trade at $59.07 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures declined 0.28 percent to trade at $52.49 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.99 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.41 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.68 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.23 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.82 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.24 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.84 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.27 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.03 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Celgene Corporation CELG from Underweight to Equal-Weight.

Celgene shares rose 1.11 percent to $101.10 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter on Thursday.



• Merck & Co., Inc. MRK reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY17 guidance.



• Alphabet Inc GOOG posted better-than-expected results for its third quarter. Third quarter EPS came ahead of estimates by $1.24. Sales came in at $27.77 billion, beating estimates by $572 million. Shares were up nearly 3 percent.



• Microsoft Corporation MSFT reported upbeat results for its third quarter on Thursday. EPS came in at $0.84, ahead of estimates by $0.12. Sales were $900 million ahead of estimates at $24.5 billion.