US Stock Futures Up; Consumer Confidence Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting consumer confidence data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 105 points to 15,412.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 12 points to 1,662.60. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 28.50 points to 3,020.75. US stocks closed mostly flat on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.06% to 15,303.10, the S&P 500 index falling 0.06% to 1,649.60 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.01% to 3,459.14. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for March will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index for May and the State Street Investor Confidence Index for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Dallas Fed general business activity index for May will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International

announced its plans to buy Bausch + Lomb for $8.7 billion. Tiffany & Co

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.52 per share on revenue of $855.14 million. Perfect World Co

is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $2.39 per share on revenue of $607.08 million. Wet Seal

is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.01 per share on revenue of $137.20 million. Canadian Solar

is estimated to post a Q1 loss at $0.78 per share on revenue of $236.45 million. United Natural Foods

is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $1.56 billion. SeaDrill

is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.58 per share on revenue of $1.14 billion. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 1.21%, London's FTSE 100 index jumped 1.67%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.24% and German DAX 30 index rose 1.14%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 1.20%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.23% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index gaining 0.24%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.05% and India's Sensex gained 0.55%.