Forexpros – U.S. stock futures were higher on Thursday, as Alcoa’s encouraging start to earnings season on Wednesday supported investor confidence while markets eyed the release of a string of U.S. economic data later in the day.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.21%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.25% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.24% gain.
Sentiment slightly improved earlier after European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said that the central bank still had its bond-buying program available as an option to ease pressure on peripheral euro zone bond yields.
Stocks were also seen higher after the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that the U.S. economy maintained its expansion in all 12 regions as manufacturing, hiring and retail sales showed signs of strength last month.
Shares in Alcoa remained higher, up 0.10% in after hour trade, after the aluminum producer surprised with a first-quarter profit as global markets improved, especially in the aerospace and automobile sectors.
Elsewhere, tech stocks were expected to be active as Micron shares climbed 0.49% in after hour trade after the chipmaker launched a USD870 million offering of convertible senior notes.
Video and audio production technology firm Avid Technology was also slated to be in focus after saying its first quarter revenue plunged almost 30% compared to this time last year.
Meanwhile, McKesson shares surged 4.07% in after hour trade on reports the health care systems distributor won a contract to supply drugs to VA facilities. The deal was said to be worth USD4 billion annually, for up to eight years.
Quest Diagnostics was also expected to move after the lab services provider announced it has appointed Steve Rusckowski as its new president and CEO.
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson was likely to turn lower however, following reports the company and a subsidiary were slapped with more than USD1.2 billion in penalties on Wednesday for deceptive marketing of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.
Also on the health care front, UBS initiated coverage of a handful of pharmaceuticals with a “buy” rating, including Ariad and Biomarin.
Other stocks in focus included MBIA Inc., as the hedge fund settled a lawsuit in which it claimed the 2009 split of its bond-insurance business hurt owners of USD240 billion of debt while benefiting stock investors.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.72%, Germany’s DAX added 0.10%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.30%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.55%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.6%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce official data on the trade balance and initial unemployment claims.
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