A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Climb Ahead Of Economic Reports

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on motor vehicle sales for June will be released today. The manufacturing PMI for June is schedule for release at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on construction spending for June and the ISM manufacturing index for June will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 78 points to 21,378.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 7.75 points to 2,428.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 14.25 points to 5,667.00. The NYSE will close trading at 1 p.m. ET today and will be closed Tuesday for Independence Day holiday.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.06 percent to trade at $48.80 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.17 percent to trade at $46.12 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.90 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.60 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.64 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.37 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 1.01 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.11 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.08 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.11 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.97 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV from Overweight to Neutral.

AeroVironment shares rose 4.66 percent to close at $38.20 on Friday.

Breaking news

• Bankrate Inc RATE agreed to be acquired by Red Ventures for $14 per share in cash.



• AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS announced plans to acquire Precision Partners for $360 million in cash.



• Diana Containerships Inc DCIX disclosed a 1-for-7 reverse stock split.



• MRV Communications, Inc. MRVC agreed to be acquired by ADVA Optical Networking for USD 10.00 per share.