A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Climb, All Eyes On Jobs Data

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on nonfarm payrolls and unemployment rate for May will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The manufacturing PMI for May is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on construction spending for April and the ISM manufacturing index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 8:55 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 120 points to 24,537.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 11.50 points to 2,717.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 21.75 points to 6,998.75.

Oil prices traded mixed as Brent crude futures rose 0.12 percent to trade at $77.59 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.49 percent to trade at $66.71 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.83 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.95 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.86 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.71 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.17 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.14 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.08 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.66 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.27 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Imperial Capital upgraded American Airlines Group Inc. AAL from In-Line to Outperform.

American Airlines shares rose 0.55 percent to close at $43.54 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• Big Lots, Inc. BIG reported weaker-than-expected results for its first quarter and issued downbeat earnings forecast.



• Lululemon Athletica inc. LULU reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter. The company also raised its FY18 earnings and sales guidance.



• Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA reported upbeat results for its first quarter, but issued weak second-quarter earnings and sales guidance.



• Costco Wholesale Corporation COST reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter.