US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Economic Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 49 points to 12,073.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5.30 points to 1,241.60. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 10.25 points to 2,249.25. US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.03% to 12,107.74, the S&P 500 index rising 0.20% to 1,243.72 and the Nasdaq 100 index dropping 0.99% to 2,577.97. Data on weekly jobless claims and final Q3 gross-domestic-product will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's final December consumer-confidence index will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. Leading indicators for November and the FHFA home-price index for October will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET. American Greetings Corp AM is projected to report its fiscal-third-quarter earnings at $0.81 per share on revenue of $439.4 million. Christopher & Banks Corporation CBK is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.50 per share on revenue of $123.95 million. CPI Corporation CPY is expected to post a Q3 loss at $1.11 per share on revenue of $93.65 million. Neogen Corp NEOG is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.27 per share on sales of $473 million. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY reported a 21% rise in its fiscal third-quarter profit. Tibco Software Inc TIBX reported a 38% surge in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit. Micron Technology Inc MU swung to a loss in its first fiscal quarter. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.01%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.12%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.25% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.11%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.7463%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.15% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.22%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.2075% and India's Sensex gained 0.82%. Gold for February delivery dropped $2.60 to $1,611.00. However, crude oil for February delivery gained $0.22 to $98.89 a barrel. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.08% to 79.95, versus 79.999 in North America late trade Tuesday.