US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Economic Data

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on consumer spending for September and the employment cost index for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for October will be released at 9:45 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 surged 18 points to 17,702.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.75 points to 2,085.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 5.50 points to 4,667.25.

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.92 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.29 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.38 percent. French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.22 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.39 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.78 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.79 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.14 percent and India's BSE Sensex declined 0.68 percent.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded

from Underweight to Equal-weight and raised the price target from $21.00 to $28.00. NVIDIA shares rose 1.99 percent to $28.23 in pre-market trading.