A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Rise Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Gross Domestic Product report and data on initial jobless claims for the latest week will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for June will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard is set to speak in St. Louis at 10:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 42 points to 24,177.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 5.50 points to 2,710.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 15 points to 7,013.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.55 percent to trade at $78.05 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.15 percent to trade at $72.87 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 lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.53 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.45 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.73 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.01 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.29 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.01 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.50 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.93 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.51 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE: MSG) from Hold to Buy.

Madison Square Garden shares fell 2 percent to close at $266.23 on Wednesday.

Breaking news

• Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ: WBA) reported better-than-expected results for its third quarter on Thursday.

 

• Accenture Plc (NYSE: ACN) posted upbeat earnings for its third quarter and raised its FY2018 earnings guidance.

 

• McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter.

 

• Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) reported weak sales for its first quarter. Comps were down 8.2 percent in the quarter. The company sees comps down 6-7 percent in the second quarter.