A Peek Into The Markets: US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead Of GDP Report

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded mixed in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from several companies. Gross Domestic Product report for the first quarter and the employment cost index for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for April is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 78 points to 24,238.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures declined 4.75 points to 2,669.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 13.25 points to 6,747.50.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures fell 0.27 percent to trade at $74.54 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures fell 0.28 percent to trade at $68.00 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count report for the latest week will be released at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.17 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index climbing 0.05 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.74 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.69 percent, while French CAC 40 Index gained 0.21 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.66 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.91 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.23 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.74 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at RBC Capital upgraded Brinker International, Inc. EAT from Sector Perform to Outperform.

Brinker shares rose 1.85 percent to close at $41.37 on Thursday.

Breaking news

• Intel Corporation INTC reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter and also raised its FY18 sales outlook.



• Colgate-Palmolive Company CL reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter.



• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN posted upbeat results for its first quarter. The company sees second quarter operating income of $1.1 billion - $1.9 billion and sales of $51 billion - $54 billion.



• Microsoft Corporation MSFT reported better-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Thursday.