US Stock Futures Up; Economic Data, Earnings In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are economic data and earnings from major companies. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 50 points to 11,854.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 6.30 points to 1,253.60. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 9.00 points to 2,297.25. US stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 2.19% to 11,866.62, the S&P 500 index declining 2.56% to 1,254.05 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 2.75% to 2,669.24. Data on June ADP employment will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET. The Institute for Supply Management's service sector report for July and factory orders for June will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Time Warner Inc TWX is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.56 per share on revenue of $6.81 billion. Owens Corning Inc OC is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.57 on revenue of $1.38 billion. Comcast Corporation CMCSA is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.41 on revenue of $13.83 billion. Mastercard Incorporated MA is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $4.22 on revenue of $1.55 billion. Clorox Company (The) CLX is projected to report its FQ4 EPS at $1.19 on revenue of $1.47 billion. Sotheby's BID is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $1.56 on revenue of $333.70 million. CenturyLink Inc CTL is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.66 on revenue of $4.43 billion. CBS Corp CBS reported its Q2 profit at $395 million, or $0.58 per share, up from $150 million, or $0.22 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed 8% to $3.59 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $3.56 billion. Hertz Global Holdings Inc HTZ swung to a second-quarter profit. The company reported a profit at $55 million, or $0.13 per share, versus a loss of $25.1 million, or $0.06 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, Hertz's earnings came in at $0.26 per share. Its revenue climbed to $2.07 billion from $1.88 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.21 per share on revenue of $2.03 billion. The Swiss central bank lowered its key lending rate to zero. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 1 %, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 1.15%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.74% and German DAX 30 index dropped 1.06%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 2.1488%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 2.26% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.03%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.9122% and India's Sensex dipped 0.79%. The US dollar gained 1.3% versus the Swiss franc to trade at 77.59 centimes. The euro surged 2.3% versus the Swiss franc to trade at CHF1.1115. Gold futures gained $24.90 to $1,669.30 an ounce. However, crude-oil for September delivery declined 0.5% to $93.28 a barrel.