U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Thursday, May 5. The Dow Futures are up 45 points to 17,626.0. The S&P 500 Futures are up 5.50 points to 2,052.5. The Nasdaq Futures are up 13.25 points to 4,323.0. The Russell Futures are showing a gain of 3.70 points to 1,114.3.

In overnight trading, global markets gained slightly. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite closed at 2,998.14 for a gain of 6.87 points or 0.23 percent. Japan’s Nikkei remains closed for a holiday. India’s NSE Nifty gained at 7,735.50, up 28.95 points or 0.38 percent. In Europe, the FTSE and CAC are lower while the DAX has gained. The FTSE is at 6,106.99 for a loss of -5.03 points or -0.08 percent. The CAC 40 is at a level of 4,320.78, down -3.45 points to -0.08 percent. The DAX is at 9,837.60 for a gain of 9.35 points or 0.10 percent.

Source: CNBC

Factors and Events

Earnings reports Wednesday after the closing bell are affecting markets. Tesla reported earnings Wednesday with positive results. Revenue for the first quarter was on target with analysts’ expectations at $1.6 billion for a comparable quarter gain of 45.5 percent. Earnings per share were $0.57, beating analysts’ estimates by $0.01.

Leading Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway holding, Kraft Heinz also reported earnings Wednesday after the closing bell. Revenue for the company was $6.57 billion, a decrease of 3.8% from the comparable quarter. Earnings per share were $0.73. The stock is up 9.92 percent for the year and investors are watching for synergies from the combination of the two consumer goods companies, just recently merging.

Jobless claims will be the leading economic report for the day, especially following a slightly weaker reading from ADP on private sector employment and the anticipation of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ jobs report Friday. Also on the agenda, Federal Reserve official James Bullard will be speaking in California and a panel of Federal Reserve officials will also be presenting later in the day.

Market indexes Wednesday appear to be regaining some ground however economic indicators still appear to be weakening. On Wednesday a number of releases showed signs of slower growth including the ADP private sector jobs report.

Wednesday’s Trading

U.S. market indexes closed broadly lower on Wednesday primarily as a result of worries over slowed growth. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,651.61 for a loss of -99.30 points or -0.56 percent. The S&P 500 was also lower, closing at 2,051.16 for a loss of -12.21 points or -0.59 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower for the day at 4,725.64 for a loss of -37.58 points or -0.79 percent. Other notable index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000, closing at 1,115.18 for a loss of -6.57 points or -0.59 percent. The S&P 600 closing at 686.28 for a loss of -3.81 points or -0.55 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index at 6,821.24 for a loss of -71.36 points or -1.04 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM at 8,116.62 for a loss of -10.51 points or -0.13 percent. The S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,449.25 for a loss of -5.05 points or -0.35 percent. The Russell 3000 closed at 1,207.46 for a loss of -7.35 points or -0.61 percent and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed at 585.33 for a loss of -0.78 points or -0.13 percent.

DJIA and Large-Cap Stocks

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Merck reported first quarter earnings before the bell. Revenue of $9.31 billion missed estimates by $150 million and fell -1.2 percent below the comparable quarter. Earnings per share were $0.89, beating estimates by $0.04.

Large-cap stocks active in pre-market trading Thursday include Chesapeake Energy, Southwestern Energy, Halliburton, Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Under Armour, Costco and Yahoo! Inc.