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