US Stock Futures Gain; Wells Fargo Earnings In Focus

Pre-open movers US stock futures rose in early pre-market trade. Wells Fargo & Company WFC is projected to post its Q2 earnings. The U.S. Treasury monthly budget report for June will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 25 points to 16,867.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.70 points to 1,960.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 9.50 points to 3,883.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.97%, STOXX Europe 600 Index gaining 0.29%. German DAX 30 index rose 0.10%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.35% and London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.22%. French current account deficit widened to 3.1 billion euro ($4.2 billion) in May from EUR2.3 billion in April. The rate of inflation in Germany rose by 0.4% on the month in June and surged 1.0% y/y. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.34%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.02%, China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.42% and India's BSE Sensex dipped 1.37%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Wells Fargo downgraded Procter & Gamble Company (The) PG from Outperform to Market Perform. Procter & Gamble's shares closed at $81.61 yesterday. Breaking news

• Fastenal Co FAST reported a 7.9% gain in its second-quarter earnings. The Winona, Minnesota-based company posted a quarterly profit of $130.5 million, or $0.44 per share, up from a year-ago profit of $121 million, or $0.41 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Imperial Tobacco ITYBY confirmed it was in talks with Reynolds American RAI and Lorillard LO regarding a potential acquisition of assets from the two companies, ahead of their long-rumored merger, according to Reuters. To read the full news, click here.
• Transition Therapeutics TTHI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Tony Cruz is pleased to announce that Carl Damiani has been appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer of Transition. To read the full news, click here.
• India's Infosys INFY reported a 21.6% rise in its net profit for the quarter ended June 30. To read the full news, click here.