A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Jobless Claims Report

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 the Chicago PMI for June is scheduled for release at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 58 points to 17,681.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 6.90 points to 2,073.70. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 11.75 points to 4,374.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures declined 0.81 percent to trade at $50.20 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 1 percent to trade at $49.36 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.42 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.19 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.27 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.38 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.67 percent. French consumer price index rose 0.2 percent year-over-year in June, while consumer spending slipped 0.7 percent in May from April. German retail sales rose 0.9 percent in May from April, while jobless claims declined 6,000 in June from May. Eurozone consumer prices increased 0.1 percent on the year in June.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.06 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 1.75 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.07 percent and India’s BSE Sensex gained 0.97 percent. Japan's industrial output declined 2.3 percent in May from the prior month.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Priceline Group Inc PCLN from Equal-weight to Overweight, while raising the price target from $1,300 to $1,525.

Priceline shares rose 1.58 percent to $1,259.05 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Progress Software Corporation PRGS reported better-than-expected results for its second quarter on Wednesday.



• McCormick & Company, Incorporated MKC announced 11.3 percent increase in net profit for the second quarter driven by 4 percent sales growth and 1.7 percentage points improvement in the gross margin. However, the adjusted earnings remained flat and came in above the Street analysts' estimations by a penny. To read the full news, click here.
• Pier 1 Imports Inc PIR reported a wider-than-expected loss for its first quarter and issued a weak outlook.



• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) LGF announced plans to acquire Starz STRZA for $4.4 billion in cash and stock.