US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 98 points to 11,590.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 12.30 points to 1,217.10. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 21.25 points to 2,248.25.

US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 0.18% to 11,559.95, the S&P 500 index rising 0.23% to 1,212.92 and the Nasdaq 100 index jumping 0.55% to 2,576.11.

Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is scheduled to release its August employment report at 8:15 a.m. ET. However, the Chicago purchasing managers index for August will be released at 9:45 a.m. and factory orders for July will be released at 10 a.m. ET.

Joy Global Inc (NASDAQ: JOYG) is projected to report its FQ3 EPS at $1.53 on revenue of $1.17 billion. Shuffle Master Inc (NASDAQ: SHFL) is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.15 on revenue of $58.14 million. The Fresh Market Inc (NASDAQ: TFM) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0.19 on revenue of $254.02 million.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc (NASDAQ: JOSB) is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.68 on revenue of $209.72 million. Zumiez Inc (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $0.05 on revenue of $112.18 million. Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) is projected to post a Q4 loss at $1.15 per share on revenue of $360.38 million.

Brown Forman Inc (NYSE: BF-B) is projected to report its FQ1 earnings at $0.83 per share on revenue of $725.41 million. SAIC Inc (NYSE: SAI) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.35 on revenue of $2.77 billion.

DryShips Inc (NASDAQ: DRYS) reported downbeat quarterly profit. DryShips posted a Q2 net loss of $114.1 million, or $0.33 per share, versus a profit of $19.5 million, or $0.07 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, DryShips earned $0.04 per share. Its revenue came in at $224 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.17 per share on revenue of $258.37 million.

PVH Corp (NYSE: PVH) posted upbeat quarterly profit and lifted its full-year forecast.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 1.36%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.86%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.55% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.42%.

Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.01%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.66% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.03%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.6367% and India's Sensex jumped 1.59%.

Gold for December delivery dropped $2.10 to $1,827.70 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex. However, crude oil futures for October delivery fell $0.35 to $88.53 a barrel.

The dollar was little changed versus its major rivals.