Investing.com - U.S. futures were higher on Thursday after the European Union and U.K. announced they had reached a deal on Brexit, dispelling fears of a disorderly and economically damaging rupture at the end of the month.
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 33 points or 0.4% by 6:42 AM ET (10:42 GMT), while Dow futures gained 111 points or 0.4% and S&P 500 futures were up 11 points or 0.4%.
The deal, announced via Twitter by European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and enlarged upon at a briefing by the EU's top negotiator Michel Barnier, suggests that the most controversial elements of the negotiations - including future trade relations between the two sides and the future of Northern Ireland, have been postponed to a later date.
However, Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party said it remains opposed to the proposed agreement, making it uncertain if the deal will be passed by the U.K. Parliament when it votes on Saturday.
The deal hinges on Northern Ireland applying a limited set of EU rules on some goods, with the U.K. only charging EU tariffs on goods passing through to EU markets. Northern Ireland will also maintain the right to vote every four years if the arrangements will stay.
Reuters cited the U.K. Labour Party as saying it would back the deal, subject to a confirmatory referendum.
Reuters cited the U.K. Labour Party as saying it would back the deal, subject to a confirmatory referendum.
Meanwhile in the U.S., third-quarter earnings and a flurry of economic data remained in focus.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) surged 7.8% in premarket trade after it added 6.8 million new customers last quarter, a strong improvement from earlier in the year. It also generated more profit than expected.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) tumbled 4.6% after its revenue came in lower than expected, while Carnival (NYSE:CCL) dipped 0.5%. Honeywell (NYSE:HON) fell 0.7% after its revenue fell short of forecasts, even as earnings beat expectations.
Weekly jobless claims, housing starts, building permits, and the Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index for October are all released at 8:30 AM ET. Industrial production data is set to come out later in the session.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,489.95 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.3% to 97.455. Crude oil futures were down 0.5% to $53.12 a barrel.