US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting data on the manufacturing and housing sectors. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 20 points to 11,270.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 3.00 points to 1,179.80. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.75 points to 2,182.25. US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average surging 1.13% to 11,269.02, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index jumping 0.53% to 1,178.81 and the NASDAQ composite index gaining 0.61% to 2,507.98. The Empire State manufacturing survey for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, the NAHB housing market index for August will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Transocean Ltd

announced its plans to buy Aker Drilling ASA in a deal valued at $2.23 billion, including debt. Sysco Corporation

is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $0.57 on revenue of $10.36 billion. Estee Lauder Companies Inc (The)

is estimated to report its Q4 EPS at $0.24 on revenue of $2.03 billion. Urban Outfitters Inc

is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0.32 on revenue of $604.46 million.Agilent Technologies Inc

is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.73 on revenue of $1.66 billion. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.3404%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 2.57% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.30%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 3.2624%. Japan's GDP contracted 1.3% on an annualized basis in the April-June quarter. European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.39%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.39%, German DAX 30 index rose 0.44% and France CAC 40 index dropped 0.30%. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.08% to 74.51, versus 74.594 in North American trade late Friday. The Swiss franc fell versus the dollar and the euro.