US Stock Futures Flat; Bank of America Earnings In Focus

US stock futures are flat this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 7 points to 13,430.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.30 points to 1,465.90. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4 points to 2,730.25.

US stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.17% to 13,511.23, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.02% to 1,472.63 and the Nasdaq 100 index rising 0.22% to 3,117.54.

Data on weekly jobless claims and housing starts for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Bank of America is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.02 per share on revenue of $21.03 billion. Amphenol (NYSE: APH) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.90 per share on revenue of $1.11 billion. UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.20 per share on revenue of $28.20 billion.

BB&T (NYSE: BBT) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $2.46 billion. American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.09 per share on revenue of $8.14 billion. Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.61 per share on revenue of $5.87 billion.

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ: FAST) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.33 per share on revenue of $759.51 million. BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $3.73 per share on revenue of $2.49 billion. Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.45 per share on revenue of $13.53 billion. Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $1.65 billion.

eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) reported a 17% rise in its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings.

CLARCOR (NYSE: CLC) reported a 2.5% drop in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.05%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.09%, German DAX 30 Index dropped 0.33% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.39%.

Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.09%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.06% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rising 0.31%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.07% and India's Sensex surged 0.74%.

Crude-oil futures for February delivery gained $0.18 to trade at $94.42 a barrel in electronic trading.

Gold futures for delivery in February fell $0.80 to $1,682.40 an ounce in electronic trading.

The ICE dollar index (DXY) declined 0.21% to trade at 79.64, from 79.807 in North America late on Wednesday.

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