A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise; Apple Earnings Beat Estimates

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, after Apple Inc. AAPL reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Facebook Inc FB and Groupon Inc GRPN will release quarterly earnings after the closing bell. Data on durable goods orders for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34 points to 18,430.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 3 points to 2,166.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 32.25 points to 4,696.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.98 percent to trade at $44.43 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also dropped 0.54 percent to trade at $42.70 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on petroleum inventories 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 1.40 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.59 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.78 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.60 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.43 percent. French consumer confidence slipped to 96 in July, versus 97 in June. French producer prices increased 0.4 percent in June versus May.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.72 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.40 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.91 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.17 percent. China's services trade deficit increased to $19.4 billion in June, from $19.1 billion in May.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Raymond James upgraded Apple Inc. AAPL from Market Perform to Outperform.

Apple shares rose 6.97 percent to $103.41 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Apple Inc. AAPL reported stronger-than-expected results for its fiscal third quarter on Tuesday. The company reported earnings of $7.8 billion or $1.42 per share, which compares to Wall Street consensus EPS estimates of $1.38. To read the full news, click here.



• The Coca-Cola Co KO released its Q2 earnings results on Wednesday morning. Revenues came in below Wall Street consensus expectations. Additionally, the company revealed a number of deals that continue its progress in reshaping its North American bottling system. To read the full news, click here.



• Corning Incorporated GLW announced results for the second quarter on Wednesday before the bell. While its core EPS came in above the expectations, revenue came in either in line or modestly below the expectations. To read the full news, click here.



• Twitter Inc TWTR reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter, but revenue fell short of expectations. The company also issued a weak revenue forecast for the third quarter. To read the full news, click here.