A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Earnings

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while wholesale inventories report for June is schedule for released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 82 points to 26,022 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 12.7 points to 2,893.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 48 points to 7,601.25.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 1.6% to trade at $57.15 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 2.4% to trade at $52.31 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks in underground storage is schedule for release at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.9%, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 1% and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.8%. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.3%, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.3%.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.37%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.48%, China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.93% and India’s BSE Sensex rose 1.74%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Barclays upgraded Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. HTZ from Equal-Weight to Overweight and announced a $19 price target.

Hertz Global shares rose 2.4 percent to $14.51 in pre-market trading.

Breaking News

• Monster Beverage Corp MNST reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter on Wednesday.
• Cincinnati Bell Inc. CBB reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter.
• American International Group Inc AIG reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. VSI reported weaker-than-expected results for its second quarter.