US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Jobless Claims, Factory Orders Data

US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on weekly jobless claims and nonfarm business productivity for the fourth quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 24 points to 18,110.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.70 points to 2,099.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 7.75 points to 4,452.00.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.54%, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.55% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.75%. French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.83% and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.37%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.26%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 1.11%, China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.95% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.23%.

Analysts at B Riley upgraded American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.

from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $15.00 to $20.00. American Eagle's shares climbed 7.69% to close at $15.96 yesterday.