US Stock Futures Rise; All Eyes On Obama Press Conference

US stock futures recorded gains on Friday, despite Deutsche Bank related concerns weighing on European markets. Investors are awaiting President Obama's news conference to know his thoughts on the state of the economy. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10 points to 10,335. S&P 500 futures added 3.2 points to 1,102.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5.5 points to 1889.50. The Labor Department announced on Thursday a decline in jobless claims last week. This news, along with an improvement in the trade deficit, lent support to the equity market on Thursday. Today, July data on wholesale inventories is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m.. In Asia, most equity markets finished with gains, as data showed that China's trade surplus narrowed to $20 billion in August. European stocks headed south, with shares of Deutsche Bank AG DB plummeting. Bloomberg News said that Germany’s largest bank is considering stock sales for raising as much as $11.4 billion. Texas Instruments Inc. TXN, National Semiconductor Corp. NSM and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. SWHC announced their quarterly earnings and the market could continue to respond today. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.