A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Yellen Testimony

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week and the Producer Price Index for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington at 9:30 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard will speak in Cambridge, Massachusetts at 1:00 p.m. ET. The U.S. Treasury budget data for June will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 19 points to 21,502.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.75 points to 2,443.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 19.25 points to 5,805.00. Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.50 percent to trade at $47.50 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures dropped 0.35 percent to trade at $47.50 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration's weekly report on natural gas stocks is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 1.01 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.49 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.21 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.12 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.58 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.01 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.16 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.64 percent and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.73 percent.

Analysts at Bank of America downgraded

from Buy to Neutral. AT&T shares fell 0.81 percent to $36.53 in pre-market trading.