U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Thursday, led by gains in Caterpillar, Merck, and Ford after upbeat quarterly earnings, while investors awaited data that will likely throw light on the pace of the economic recovery.
The Commerce Department’s advance gross domestic product report, due at 08:30 a.m. ET, will likely show the U.S. economy grew at a 2.7 percent annualized rate last quarter, its slowest pace in more than a year as COVID-19 infections flared up, upending global supply chains and fueling labor and goods shortages.
