07:19 AM EST, 02/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets edged higher before Friday's opening bell as traders await fresh cues to trigger market direction.

Standard & Poor's 500 was slightly in the green while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq increased 0.1% each in premarket activity. The majority of Asian exchanges were trending upwards, while European bourses were heading north midday on the continent.

Shares of Celsius (CELH) jumped 32% pre-bell as the beverage company agreed to acquire energy drink maker Alani Nutrition in a cash-and-stock deal worth about $1.8 billion and reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Rivian Automotive ( RIVN ) declined 3.9% following the electric vehicle maker's quarterly report.

United States Cellular ( USM ) , Telephone and Data Systems ( TDS/PV ) , TXNM Energy ( TXNM ) and Brady (BRC) are scheduled to release their latest results before the bell, among others.

On the economic calendar, the purchasing managers' index report from S&P Global (SPGI) for February posts at 9:45 am ET, followed by the existing home sales report for January at 10 am. The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for this month and the fourth-quarter services survey are also scheduled to be released at 10 am.

The weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count is due at 1 pm. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly are slated to speak at 11:30 am.

Before the opening bell, bitcoin ticked up 0.1% to $98,659, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 1% to $71.77 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries retreated 1.3 basis points to 4.49% and gold decreased 0.3% to $2,947 an ounce.