U.S. Stock Futures Trend Higher Before Earnings, Data
U.S. stock index futures were trending higher Thursday with investors focused on earnings due from Ford and Caterpillar, apart from some data reports.
The S&P 500 Futures were up 2.50 points to 1983.25 points while the Nasdaq Futures added 10.30 points to 3985.80 points.
Jobless claims data is expected at 8.30 a.m. Eastern Time followed by a report on new home sales in June at 10.00 a.m. Ahead of the data, both Ford and General Motors will release their second-quarter results. 3M, Caterpillar, and AmericourceBergen Corp. are also scheduled to report results early.
Facebook is in focus too after its better-than-expected results, reported after the market close Wednesday. Facebook shares were up 6.2% in pre-market trading while Gilead Sciences was up 1.4%. However, Qualcomm was down 5% as the company noted some worries on China even as it raised its full-year adjusted earnings view.
Earlier today, HSBC said its Chinese manufacturing PMI hit an 18-month high, pushing the mainland Chinese index over a percent higher. Asian markets all ended higher barring the Nikkei. European markets were also trending higher midday amid a number of heavyweight earnings reports.
