US Stock Futures Flat; GDP Data In Focus

US stock futures are flat this morning, as investors are awaiting an estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6 points to 13,154.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2 points to 1,394.80. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1 point to 2,721.25. US stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.87% to 13,204.62, the S&P 500 index rising 0.67% to 1,399.98 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.69% to 3,050.61. The Commerce Department's first estimate of Q1 GDP will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Chevron Corporation

is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $3.26 on revenue of $72.42 billion. Procter & Gamble Co

is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $20.30 billion. Ford Motor Co

is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.35 on revenue of $31.49 billion. Merck & Co Inc

is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.98 per share on revenue of $11.82 billion. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co

is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.07 per share on revenue of $5.83 billion. Newell Rubbermaid Inc

is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.31 on revenue of $1.30 billion. International Paper Company

is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.50 on revenue of $6.79 billion. Weyerhaeuser Co

is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.00 on revenue of $1.53 billion. V.F. Corporation

is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $1.87 on revenue of $2.45 billion. Pilgrim's Corp

is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.08 on revenue of $1.93 billion. Deckers Outdoor Corp

reported a 59% drop in its first-quarter profit and cut its full-year projections. Expedia Inc

reported a better-than-expected adjusted profit for the first quarter. Starbucks Corp

reported a 7% rise in its second-quarter same-store sales. However, analysts were expecting a 7.7% gain in same-store sales. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered Spain's credit rating by two notches to BBB+. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.19%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.20%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.27% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.10%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.43%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.35% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.33% and India's Sensex rose 0.02%. Nymex crude-oil futures dropped $0.36 to $104.19 a barrel in electronic trade. However, gold futures fell $5.10 to $1,655.40 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.30% to 78.93. The euro rose 0.02% against the dollar to trade at $1.3227. The US dollar declined 0.5% against the Japanese yen to trade at ¥80.69.