US Stock Futures Up; Moody's Downgrades 15 Banks

US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 49 points to 12,551.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5.50 points to 1,323.80. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 9.25 points to 2,561.00. US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 1.96% to 12,573.57, the S&P 500 index declining 2.23% to 1,325.51 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 2.44% to 2,859.09. Moody's Investors Service lowered the credit ratings of 15 banks. Darden Restaurants

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $1.15 per share on revenue of $2.11 billion. Carnival Corp

is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.08 per share on revenue of $3.55 billion. Medtronic

lifted its quarterly dividend by 7% to $0.26 per share. Paragon Shipping

reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit. Ryder System

cut its fiscal second-quarter and full-year earnings estimates. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.68%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 1.04%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.66% and German DAX 30 index declined 1.04%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 0.29% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.97%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.40% and India's Sensex fell 0.35%. Gold for August delivery gained $5.10 to $1,570.60, while crude-oil futures gained $0.42 to $78.62 a barrel. The euro reached $1.2554, versus $1.2546 in late North American trading on Thursday.