Investing.com – U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as markets awaited a flurry of key U.S. economic data, while shares in JP Morgan advanced ahead of the open following better-than-expected earnings.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5%.
Stock index futures trimmed gains amid fears over euro zone sovereign debt contagion after Italy auctioned EUR1.25 billion of five-year bonds at an average yield of 4.93%, the highest since June 2008 and up significantly from 3.9% in June.
Meanwhile, shares in the second largest U.S. lender JP Morgan jumped 2% in pre-market trade after it said second quarter net income rose 13% from a year earlier to USD5.43 billion.
Revenue in the quarter rose 6.6% to USD26.78 billion, significantly higher than expectations for revenue of USD25.02 billion, as investment banking "delivered strong earnings across most products."
The upbeat results boosted other shares in the sector, with Bank of America shares gaining 1.2%, Goldman Sachs up 0.9%, while Citigroup, which was due to release earnings on Friday, saw shares climb 0.7%.
Shares in fast-food restaurant operator Yum Brands jumped 2.8% after it reported a 10.5% gain in second quarter net profit late Wednesday. Revenue for the period rose 9.4% to USD2.82 billion, beating expectations of USD2.69 billion.
Meanwhile, shares in search engine giant Google added 0.8% as investors positioned themselves in the stock ahead of the company’s earnings results, due out after Thursday’ closing bell.
Other stocks in focus included, oil and gas giant ConocoPhllips, which saw shares rally 10.8% after it said that it planned to split into two publicly traded companies through a spin-off of its refining and marketing business to shareholders.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly lower amid concerns over the region’s ongoing debt crisis. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.8%, Germany's DAX slumped 0.5%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.6%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased up 0.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.27% after Moody’s Investors Service said late Wednesday that it placed the U.S. government’s Aaa bond rating on review for possible downgrade for the first time since 1995, citing “a small but rising risk” of a short-lived default.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a string of economic data, including a report on retail sales, producer price inflation, as well as weekly government data on initial jobless claims.
Also Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to deliver the second part of his testimony on monetary policy in Washington.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5%.
Stock index futures trimmed gains amid fears over euro zone sovereign debt contagion after Italy auctioned EUR1.25 billion of five-year bonds at an average yield of 4.93%, the highest since June 2008 and up significantly from 3.9% in June.
Meanwhile, shares in the second largest U.S. lender JP Morgan jumped 2% in pre-market trade after it said second quarter net income rose 13% from a year earlier to USD5.43 billion.
Revenue in the quarter rose 6.6% to USD26.78 billion, significantly higher than expectations for revenue of USD25.02 billion, as investment banking "delivered strong earnings across most products."
The upbeat results boosted other shares in the sector, with Bank of America shares gaining 1.2%, Goldman Sachs up 0.9%, while Citigroup, which was due to release earnings on Friday, saw shares climb 0.7%.
Shares in fast-food restaurant operator Yum Brands jumped 2.8% after it reported a 10.5% gain in second quarter net profit late Wednesday. Revenue for the period rose 9.4% to USD2.82 billion, beating expectations of USD2.69 billion.
Meanwhile, shares in search engine giant Google added 0.8% as investors positioned themselves in the stock ahead of the company’s earnings results, due out after Thursday’ closing bell.
Other stocks in focus included, oil and gas giant ConocoPhllips, which saw shares rally 10.8% after it said that it planned to split into two publicly traded companies through a spin-off of its refining and marketing business to shareholders.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly lower amid concerns over the region’s ongoing debt crisis. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.8%, Germany's DAX slumped 0.5%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.6%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased up 0.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index dipped 0.27% after Moody’s Investors Service said late Wednesday that it placed the U.S. government’s Aaa bond rating on review for possible downgrade for the first time since 1995, citing “a small but rising risk” of a short-lived default.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a string of economic data, including a report on retail sales, producer price inflation, as well as weekly government data on initial jobless claims.
Also Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to deliver the second part of his testimony on monetary policy in Washington.