A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Philip Morris International Inc. PM and Union Pacific Corporation UNP. Microsoft Corporation MSFT, eBay Inc EBAY and Visa Inc V will release earnings after the closing bell. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Philadelphia Fed general conditions index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The index of leading economic indicators for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11 points to 21,607.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 0.75 points to 2,472.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 1.25 points to 5,919.50.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.10 percent to trade at $49.75 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.06 percent to trade at $47.15 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 mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.16 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.10 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.44 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.71 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.28 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.62 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.26 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.43 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.16 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Credit Suisse downgraded Pfizer Inc. PFE from Outperform to Neutral.

Pfizer shares fell 0.54 percent to $33.44 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• PPG Industries, Inc. PPG reported better-than-expected profit for its second quarter.



• QUALCOMM, Inc. QCOM reported a 40 percent profit slump as it remains embroiled in a patent battle with Apple. The company posted upbeat earnings for its third quarter, but issued a weak earnings forecast for the fourth quarter.



• Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK posted stronger-than-expected profit for its second quarter.



• American Express Company AXP posted better-than-expected results for its second quarter.