A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

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

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 27 points to 24,105.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 5.75 points to 2,649.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 30.50 points to 6,586.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.82 percent to trade at $74.61 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.65 percent to trade at $68.49 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 higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.42 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.42 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.20 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.10 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.48 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.47 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.06 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.38 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.62 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Trivago NV - ADR TRVG from Buy to Hold.

Trivago shares fell 4.03 percent to $4.52 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ posted better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter.



• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BMY reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, while sales missed estimates.



• General Motors Company GM reported upbeat results for its first quarter.



• Facebook, Inc. FB reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Wednesday.