US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Factory Orders Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting factory orders data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 57 points to 14,543.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.80 points to 1,561.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 14.25 points to 2,804.00. US stocks closed lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.04% to 14,572.85, the S&P 500 index falling 0.45% to 1,562.17 and the Nasdaq 100 index dipping 0.87% to 3,239.17. Data on auto sales will be released today. The ICSC-Goldman store sales index will be released at 7:45 a.m. ET, while the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index will be released at 8:55 a.m. ET. Data on factory orders for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. McCormick & Company MKC is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.56 per share on revenue of $922.66 million. G-III Apparel Group GIII is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.40 per share on revenue of $360.21 million. Team TISI is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $152.30 million. Global Payments GPN is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $580.28 million. magicJack VocalTec CALL is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.51 per share on revenue of $39.01 million. Shoe Carnival SCVL reported a 2% drop in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and issued downbeat forecast for the current quarter. Lifeway Foods LWAY swung to fourth-quarter net income of $1.1 million, or $0.07 per share, versus a year-ago net loss of $0.4 million, or $0.02 per share. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.71%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.98%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.97% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.78%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.08%, China's Shanghai Composite tumbling 0.30% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.31%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.31% and India's Sensex surged 0.93%.