China’s exports declined less than expected last month
U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday after China posted stronger-than-expected export data for July, despite the growing trade tensions with Washington.
Chinese officials said U.S. dollar-denominated exports grew 3.3% last month from the same period a year ago. Analysts had forecast a 2% drop, according to Reuters.
Imports fell 5.6%, while analysts had expected a decline of 8.3%. China recorded a trade surplus of $45.06 billion with the U.S in July, down from $50.98 billion in June.
At 05:31 a.m. ET, the Dow futures contract were up 53 points, or 0.2% to 25,993, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Futures contract gained 32.25 points, or 0.43% to 7,585.5, while the S&P 500 futures contract climbed 7.88 points or 0.27% to 2,888.38.
Broadcom in talks to acquire Symantec’s enterprise unit
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) is nearing a deal to acquire Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC)’s enterprise-security unit for about $10 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. People familiar with the matter told the Journal that it is possible that a deal could be reached today (Thursday), when Symantec reports first-quarter fiscal 2020 results.
San Jose, California-based Broadcom had previously attempted to acquire the entire cybersecurity firm, but negotiations broke down due to price disagreements. Symantec shares surged 13.42% before the opening bell, while those of Broadcom were down 0.57%.
Salesforces acquires ClickSoftware for $1.35 billion
Salesforce.com, Inc (NYSE: CRM) has sealed a $1.35 billion cash and stock deal to acquire Israeli-founded ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. The cloud computing company made the announcement on Wednesday, saying it expects to close the deal in the quarter ending October 31.
According to a press release issued by Salesforce, the acquisition of ClickSoftware “will create strategic synergies, technological unity and new innovation opportunities for Salesforce to better meet the needs of existing and new customers around the world by providing one seamless field service solution.”
Uber earnings on tap
Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) is scheduled to release earnings after the closing bell today. Analysts expect the ride-sharing giant to report adjusted loss of $0.79 per share on revenue of $3.05 billion.
Other companies set to report today include Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC), Cronos Group (NASDAQ: CRON), Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), Yelp (NYSE: YELP), AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC), and Fiverr (NYSE: FVRR).
