US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of Earnings, Consumer Confidence Data

Pre-open moversUS stock futures gained in early pre-market trade, ahead of economic data. The FOMC will begin its two-day policy meeting today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for May will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for July will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 37 points to 16,953.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.30 points to 1,976.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 7.75 points to 3,967.75.A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.32%, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.06%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.14%, French CAC 40 Index gained 0.07% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.23%.In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.57%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 0.87% and China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.24%. Japan's unemployment rate increased to 3.7% in June, while retail sales slipped 0.6% y/y in June.Broker RecommendationAnalysts at BMO Capital downgraded Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) from Outperform to Market Perform. The target price for Dollar Tree has been lowered from $69 to $59. Dollar Tree's shares gained 1.20% to close at $54.87 yesterday. Breaking news

• Aetna (NYSE: AET) reported a rise in its second-quarter profit and raised its earnings outlook for the full year. To read the full news, click here.
• Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit. The company posted a quarterly profit of $2 billion, or $0.68 per share, compared to $906 million, or $0.30 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, it earned $0.85 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Spirit Airlines (NASDAQ: SAVE) reported a 54% gain its second-quarter profit. The Miramar, Florida-based company posted quarterly net income of $64.8 million, or $0.88 per share, up from $42.1 million, or $0.58 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings surged 45.2% to $66.5 million, or $0.91 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Windstream (NASDAQ: WIN) today announced plans to spin off certain telecommunications network assets into an independent, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT). To read the full news, click here.