US Stock Futures Flat; Morgan Stanley Earnings, Jobless Claims Data In Focus

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Morgan Stanley MS and economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 9 points to 13,498.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 0.50 points to 1,456.60. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.50 points to 2,769.00. US stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.04% to 13,557.00, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.41% to 1,460.91 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.10% to 3,104.12. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Conference Board's index of leading indicators for September and the Philadelphia Fed index of business confidence will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Morgan Stanley is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $6.36 billion. Baxter International BAX is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $1.14 on revenue of $3.52 billion. Google GOOG is expected to post its Q3 EPS at $10.65 on revenue of $11.87 billion. Philip Morris International PM is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $1.39 on revenue of $8.25 billion. Advanced Micro Devices AMD is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.15 per share on revenue of $1.28 billion. Microsoft MSFT is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.56 on revenue of $16.42 billion. Danaher DHR is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.79 on revenue of $4.51 billion. KeyCorp KEY is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.21 on revenue of $1.03 billion. Sonoco Products Co SON is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.52 on revenue of $1.19 billion. Southwest Airlines Co LUV is expected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.13 on revenue of $4.36 billion. Verizon Communications VZ reported a 16% rise in its third-quarter net income. eBay EBAY reported a 22% surge in its third-quarter net income. Align Technology ALGN issued disappointing outlook for its Q3 results. European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.02%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.20%, French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.07% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.40%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 2%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 1.24% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.66%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.48% and India's Sensex gained 1.02%. Chinese economy rose 7.4% in the third quarter, versus 7.6% in the previous quarter. The euro fell 0.07% versus the dollar to trade at $1.3111. Crude oil for December delivery gained $0.01 to trade at $92.13 a barrel, while gold futures for December delivery dropped $4.40 to $1,748.60 an ounce.