A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Wholesale Inventories Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on wholesale trade inventories for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 20 points to 21,154.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.50 points to 2,431.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 1.50 points to 5,893.75.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.40 percent to trade at $48.05 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.31 percent to trade at $45.78 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.42 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.08 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.32 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.50 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.21 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.52 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.13 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.26 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.16 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Zynga Inc ZNGA from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

Zynga shares fell 0.28 percent to close at $3.58 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• Encana Corp (USA) ECA agreed to sell Piceance natural gas assets for $735 million.



• VeriFone Systems Inc PAY posted a loss for the second quarter and lowered its FY17 outlook.



• Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Inc EYEG disclosed a $10 million offering of common stock and warrants.



• Ascena Retail Group Inc ASNA reported in-line earnings for its third quarter, while sales exceeded estimates.