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A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of GM Earnings, GDP Report

AMZN, GOOG, MSFT, CL, GM, WDC

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from General Motors Company (NYSE: GM). Data on GDP for the first quarter and the employment cost index for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for April will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for April is schedule for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Federal Reserve Board of Governor Lael Brainard is set to speak in Evanston, Illinois at 1:15 p.m. ET, while Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker will speak in Washington, D.C. at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5 points to 20,903.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 1.75 points to 2,387.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 3.25 points to 5,594.00.

Oil prices traded higher as Brent crude futures rose 0.60 percent to trade at $51.75 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures gained 0.84 percent to trade at $49.38 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 mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.40 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.17 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.06 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading lower by 0.30 percent, while French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.17 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.29 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.34 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.08 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.37 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) from Equal-Weight to Overweight.

Western Digital shares rose 8.80 percent to $93.25 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

  • Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported stronger-than-expected results for its first quarter on Thursday.
  • Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) reported upbeat earnings for its first quarter, but sales missed estimates.
  • Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) posted upbeat earnings for its first quarter on Thursday.
  • Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported better-than-expected earnings for its first quarter, but slightly missed revenue expectations.