Dow Jones Futures Up Pre-Market – Here Are Today's Top Stock Market News Stories

Stock market news today, July 24, 2014: Following the S&P 500's record high Wednesday, U.S. stock futures were all green in pre-market this morning (Thursday). Dow Jones futures were up 0.16%, S&P futures were up 0.23%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.35% as of 8:15 a.m. EDT.

Here are the stock market news stories shaping U.S. markets Thursday:

• Social Surge: Shares of Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) gained more than 7.8% after the bell yesterday on news that the company beat second-quarter estimates. Citing a surge in mobile advertising, the company boasted a 61% increase in quarterly revenue. The stock hit an all-time high above $71 per share and pushed the company's valuation to nearly $190 billion. Here's the full story on how Facebook stock surged on Wednesday following earnings…

• Cutting Back: Telecom giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) announced a 7.2% decline in quarterly earnings on Wednesday. The company reported that net income slipped from $3.82 billion to $3.55 billion from the same period last year. AT&T said that mobile customers continue to move to less expensive cell plans. According to company data, half of the firm's wireless customers have shifted to "Mobile Share Value" plans, deals that were introduced in February.

• Another Day, Another Sanction: The Financial Times reports that the European Union is preparing to ban its citizens from buying or selling bonds or stocks from Russia's largest banks. The deal is the latest round of sanctions against Russian interest in the wake of growing geopolitical problems in Ukraine.

• Auto Profits: Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) were on the rise this morning after the company announced it beat second-quarter earnings estimates. The company reported a quarterly profit of $2.6 billion, or $0.40 per share. This topped consensus estimates of $0.36 per share. Meanwhile, rival General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) reported second-quarter profit of $0.58 per share on revenue of $39.65 billion. Shares of GM were up marginally in pre-market hours.

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Garrett Baldwin

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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

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