US Stock Futures Up; Economic Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 49 points to 11,812 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5.90 points to 1,211.90. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 8.75 points to 2,237.75.

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipping 1.10% to 11,823.48, the S&P 500 index dropping 1.14% to 1,211.82 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 1.55% to 2,539.31.

Data on weekly jobless claims, current account, producer prices for November and the Empire State manufacturing index for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Industrial production data for November will be released at 9:15 a.m. ET. However, the Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing survey for November will be released at 10 a.m. ET.

FedEx Corp (NYSE: FDX) is projected to report its FQ2 earnings at $1.53 per share on revenue of $10.59 billion. Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.89 per share on sales of $1.8 billion. Research In Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) is estimated to post its Q3 EPS at $1.19 on revenue of $5.27 billion.

Rite Aid Corp (NYSE: RAD) is projected to post a Q3 loss of $0.12 per share on revenue of $6.29 billion. Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE: PIR) is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.20 on sales of $383 million. Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is estimated to report its Q1 EPS at $0.94 on revenue of $6.84 billion.

Imperial Sugar Company (NASDAQ: IPSU) is estimated to report a Q4 loss of $0.91 per share on sales of $220.4 million. Winnebago Industries Inc (NYSE: WGO) is projected to report its Q1 EPS at $0.06 per share on sales of $133.4 million. Scholastic Corp (NASDAQ: SCHL) is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $2.33 per share on sales of $684.7 million.

VeriFone Systems Inc (NYSE: PAY) reported its Q4 earnings at $0.53 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $410 million. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.51 per share.

Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) reported that its board authorized a 10% rise in its quarterly dividend.

Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ: LRCX) agreed to buy Novellus Systems Inc (NASDAQ: NVLS) for $3.3 billion in stock.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.78%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.61%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.78% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.99%.

Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.6640%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.22% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 2.14%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.7848% and India's Sensex dropped 0.28%.

The Swiss franc gained versus the US dollar. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.15% to trade at 80.41, versus 80.538 in late North American trading on Wednesday. The euro gained 0.18% against the greenback to trade at $1.3005.

Gold futures for February delivery gained $3.10 to $1,590.90 an ounce. However, crude oil for January delivery climbed $0.67 to $95.62 a barrel.