A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Edge Higher, Bank of America Profit Tops Views

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on retail sales for June and the Empire State manufacturing index for July will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for May will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points to 25,016.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures traded rose 0.30 points to 2,803.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 8.50 points to 7,401.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 1.91 percent to trade at $73.89 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 1.61 percent to trade at $69.87 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.09 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index dropping 0.08 percent and German DAX 30 index climbing 0.14 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.72 percent, while French CAC 40 Index fell 0.16 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.85 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.05 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.61 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.60 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Daiwa Capital upgraded Autoliv, Inc. ALV from Neutral to Outperform.

Autoliv shares rose 0.62 percent to close at $105.71 on Friday.

Breaking News

• BlackRock, Inc. BLK reported better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Bank of America Corporation BAC reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
• Brown & Brown, Inc. BRO reported the acquisition of Professional Disability Associates.
• Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. CLRB disclosed a 1-for-10 reverse stock split.