US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Earnings

US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from major companies. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 18 points to 15,314.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.70 points to 1,729.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 14 points to 3,315.00.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.38%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.33% and STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.44%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.17% and French CAC 40 Index surged 0.49%. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 0.17%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.24% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 1.06%. Australia's ASX/S&P500 surged 0.74% and India's Sensex jumped 2.29%. China's gross domestic product rose 7.8% in the third quarter, versus a 7.5% growth in the second quarter. The country's industrial output rose 10.2% in September from a 10.4% growth in August, while retail sales grew 13.3% versus a 13.4% growth increase in the earlier month.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded Verizon Communications

from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Verizon Communications has been raised from $49 to $56. Verizon's shares gained 1.02% to $49.40 in pre-market trading.