A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Jobless Claims Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. The Challenger job-cut report for April is schedule for release at 7:30 a.m. ET. Data on international trade, initial jobless claims and nonfarm productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for March will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 56 points to 20,935.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures climbed 6.75 points to 2,390.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 17.50 points to 5,630.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.87 percent to trade at $50.90 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.78 percent to trade at $48.03 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.02 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.16 percent and German DAX 30 index declining 0.13 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.31 percent, while French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.24 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.70 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.33 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.27 percent and India’s BSE Sensex slipped 0.09 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JP Morgan upgraded Bunge Ltd BG from Underweight to Neutral.

Bunge shares rose 0.69 percent to $67.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Facebook Inc FB reported upbeat revenue for its first quarter on Wednesday. Daily active users rose 18 percent year-over-year to 1.28 billion, while monthly active users gained 17 percent to 1.94 billion.



• Dunkin Brands Group Inc DNKN reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but revenue missed estimates.



• Tesla Inc TSLA posted a wider-than-expected loss for its first quarter, while sales exceeded expectations. Vehicle production rose 64 percent year-over-year to 25,051 units in the quarter.



• Avon Products, Inc. AVP reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its first quarter on Thursday.