South Korea preliminary July trade surplus $30.32 bln vs. est. $29.59 bln; June surplus revised to $36.088 bln from $36.149 bln.

India's foreign minister phoned Iran's foreign minister this evening, urged that attacks on commercial shipping and seafarers be avoided under any circumstances, and condemned any such attacks by any party.

European stocks rose in early trade, led by a tech rebound and weaker oil as the Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 0.8% to a record high. Amsterdam's semiconductor-heavy AEX rose 0.2%; ASML gained 3.4% and ASM International jumped 5.4%. Universal Music Group plunged more than 21% after reporting results. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.6%, supported by miners and Sainsbury, which rallied 5.1%. Germany's DAX gained 0.7%, with Infineon up 7%.