A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher; Alphabet Posts Upbeat Results

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from Mastercard Inc MA, Chevron Corporation CVX and Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM. Data on Gross Domestic Product and the employment cost index for the third quarter for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for October will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 14 points to 18,096.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 3 points to 2,126.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 6 points to 4,813.00.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures slipped 0.55 percent to trade at $50.19 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures also fell 0.80 percent to trade at $49.32 a barrel. The Baker Hughes North American rig count for the latest week is schedule for release at 1:00 p.m. ET.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.24 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.35 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.24 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.07 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.30 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.63 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.77 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.26 percent and India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.09 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Oppenheimer upgraded Twitter Inc TWTR from Underperform to Perform.

Twitter shares rose 0.57 percent to $17.50 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

• Alphabet Inc GOOGL reported stronger-than-expected results for its third quarter. The company also announced a $7 billion stock buyback plan. To read the full news, click here.



• Xerox Corp XRX reported mixed results for the third quarter. While earnings came in line with the estimates, revenue fell shy. The company offered a soft outlook for the fourth quarter. To read the full news, click here.



• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its third quarter on Thursday. To read the full news, click here.



• Hershey Co HSY delivered better than expected earnings for the third quarter while sales came in line with estimates. The company boosted its EPS forecast for the full year. To read the full news, click here.