U.S. stock index futures rose today after Empire State factory gauge moved back into positive territory in May and as investors awaited manufacturing and consumer sentiment data.
S&P 500 futures added 0.2 percent to 2,121. E-mini Dow futures rose 0.2 percent to 18,233. E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.3 percent to 4,503. Changes in stock futures don’t always accurately predict moves in the stock market after the opening bell.
The S&P cruised to an all-time high yesterday, gaining 1.1 percent to 2121.10. It was the index’s seventh record close in 2015. The Dow rose 1.1 percent to 18,252.24. The blue-chip index is now just 0.2 percent away from its March 2 record close of 18,288.63.
DATA:
Federal Reserve data is expected to show that U.S. manufacturing output gained modestly last month. The data will be released at 9:15 a.m.
The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index, expected at 10 a.m., is expected to show U.S. consumers were slightly more upbeat in the early part of May.
The Empire State manufacturing index rose in May, but only barely. The index, a first reading of manufacturing conditions in the month, inched up to 3.1 from negative 1.2 in April, the New York Fed said today.
MOVERS:
El Pollo Loco Holdings (NASDAQ:LOCO) tanked 13.2 percent in premarket trading after the restaurant chain operator projected a full-year profit largely below estimates.
King Digital Entertainment (NYSE:KING) fell 9 percent as the "Candy Crush Saga" creator said it anticipates forex rates and a lack of new releases to hurt bookings.
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) rose 3.5 percent after Bloomberg reported that it was in talks with a company backed by Alibaba's (NYSE:BABA) Jack Ma to enter China.
Avon Products (NYSE:AVP), the world's largest door-to-door seller of cosmetics, dropped 1.6 percent, a day after soaring as much as 20 percent on an apparently bogus takeover offer. Avon said it had received no such offer.
Keurig Green Mountain (NASDAQ:GMCR) fell 6.6 percent to $10.3.07 after Bloomberg reported that the K-cup coffee pod maker would not make available its new cold brewing system in all its retail outlets until next year.
eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) rose 0.2 percent after saying all 15 board members will remain or join PayPal’s board when it spins off from eBay in the third quarter.
United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) climbed 1.0 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded its share recommendation to buy from hold.
Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) declined 1.9 percent after JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut the stock to “underweight”, the equivalent of a “sell” rating, from “neutral”.
COMMODITIES:
Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,216 an ounce at 5:41 a.m., while U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $8.90 an ounce at $1,216. Prices are up 2.7 percent this week.
Brent crude for June delivery traded broadly flat at $66.70 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June was recently trading down 0.3 percent at $59.68 a barrel.
OTHER MARKETS:
European stocks climbed today, encouraged by yesterday’s rally on Wall Street and further signs that stability was returning to bond markets after a recent rout. The Stoxx Europe 600 was 0.3 percent higher early afternoon, building on gains late in the previous session.
Stock markets in Shanghai were the biggest laggards on Friday after coming under liquidity pressure, while the rest of the region advanced on the back of an impressive lead from Wall Street overnight. China's Shanghai Composite index closed down 1.6 percent.
The dollar also slipped to its lowest in four months against a basket of currencies of major U.S. trading partners, offering good news for companies that have large foreign sales.