US Stock Futures Edge Higher; GM Earnings, Economic Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from General Motors Co GM and weekly jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points to 13,224.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.70 points to 1,400.20. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 6.25 points to 2,733.75. US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.08% to 13,268.57, the S&P 500 index falling 0.25% to 1,402.31 and the Nasdaq 100 index rising 0.31% to 3,059.85. Data on weekly jobless claims and Q1 productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The ISM non-manufacturing purchasing managers index will be released at 10 a.m. ET. ECB President Mario Draghi's news conference will start at 8:30 a.m. ET. General Motors Co is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.85 per share on sales of $37.88 billion. Cigna Corp CI is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $1.30 per share on sales of $6.59 billion. American International Group Inc AIG is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $1.12 on revenue of $8.96 billion. Apache Corp APA is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $3.10 per share on sales of $4.5 billion. Walgreen Co WAG is projected to post its FQ3 earnings at $0.63 per share on sales of $17.96 billion. Cardinal Health Co CAH is estimated to post its FQ3 earnings at $0.88 per share on revenue of $26.77 billion. Sara Lee Corp SLE is projected to post its Q3 EPS at $0.25 on revenue of $1.95 billion. Dole Food Company Inc DOLE is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.31 on revenue of $1.68 billion. MGM Resorts International MGM is expected to post a Q1 loss at $0.16 per share on revenue of $2.26 billion. Viacom Inc VIA is projected to report its FQ2 earnings at $0.89 per share on revenue of $3.32 billion. Cablevision Systems Corp CVC is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.19 per share on revenue of $1.67 billion. The Allstate Corp ALL reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc DWA reported a 3% rise in its first-quarter profit. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.69%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.30%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.43% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.05%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.07% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.23%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.28% and India's Sensex fell 0.81%. Crude-oil futures for June delivery dropped $0.50 to $104.72 a barrel. However, gold futures for June delivery declined $10.40 to $1,643.90 an ounce. The ICE dollar index (DXY) gained 0.12% to 79.27, versus 79.151 in late North American trading Wednesday.