US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of GDP, Jobless Claims Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on Q1 GDP growth and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 15 points to 16,643.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.10 points to 1,910.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 2.75 points to 3,718.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.29%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.04%. German DAX 30 index fell 0.01%, French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.09% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.32%. French producer prices declined 0.1% in April versus March, while consumer spending slipped 0.3% in April versus a 0.6% growth in March. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumped 0.07%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.30%, China's Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.47% and India's BSE Sensex tumbled 1.31%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Sterne Agee upgraded Dollar Tree DLTR from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Dollar Tree has been raised from $54 to $61. Dollar Tree's shares closed at $52.78 yesterday. Breaking news

• SunEdison SUNE today announced that its yieldco subsidiary, TerraForm Power, has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of Class A common stock. To read the full news, click here.
• IBM IBM and SAP AG SAP today announced plans for a global collaboration to provide tailored business applications and consulting services for the transportation and logistics industry. To read the full news, click here.
• AMSURG AMSG and Sheridan Healthcare, a portfolio company of Hellman & Friedman, LLC, today announced that their respective Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which AMSURG will acquire Sheridan Healthcare in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2.35 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• Costco Wholesale COST reported a 3% gain in its fiscal third-quarter profit. Costco's quarterly earnings surged to $473 million, or $1.07 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $459 million, or $1.04 per share. To read the full news, click here.