US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start For Wall Street

US stock index futures are higher, after better-than-expected factory production data from China. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 119 points to 11,115.00, while S&P 500 futures rose 13.80 points to 1,193.40. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 21.75 points to 2,138.75. US stock markets closed lower yesterday, with the blue-chip Dow index losing 46.47 points or 0.42%. The ADP employment survey for November is due at about 8:15 a.m. ET. However, data on Q3 productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The ISM manufacturing data for November will be released at 10 a.m. ET. State Street Corp STT announced its plans to reduce around 1,400 jobs, or 5% of its workforce, by 2011 end. China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a 7-month high of 55.2 in November. The factory production for November in India also increased at its fastest rate in 6 months. The manufacturing activity in Great Britain also rose in November. In Germany, retail sales rose 2.3% in October from the last month. Positive sentiments ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 1.19%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.47%. Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average adding 0.51%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.01% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.12%. Commodity prices rose, while the US dollar moved down. The dollar index (DXY) declined 0.48%. The euro rose 0.8% to $1.3098. Oil futures gained $1.28 to $85.39 per barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.