US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of P&G Earnings, New Home Sales Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Procter & Gamble Co

and new home sales data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 34 points to 13,815.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 3.70 points to 1,495.50. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 11.25 points to 2,729.50. US stocks closed mixed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.33% to 13,825.33, the S&P 500 index rising 0.01 points to 1,494.82 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.74% to 3,130.38. Data on new home sales for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Procter & Gamble Co is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.11 per share on revenue of $21.91 billion. Halliburton Company

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.61 per share on revenue of $7.06 billion. Oshkosh

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $1.72 billion. Weyerhaeuser Co

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.20 per share on revenue of $1.82 billion. Kimberly-Clark

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.35 per share on revenue of $5.19 billion. Honeywell International

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $1.09 per share on revenue of $9.51 billion. Covidien plc

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.06 per share on revenue of $3.00 billion. Microsoft

reported a drop in its second-quarter earnings. Starbucks

reported a 13% rise in its fiscal first-quarter profit. AT&T

reported downbeat Q4 adjusted earnings. The company added 780,000 wireless post-paid subscribers in the period, versus analysts' estimates of 699,200 subscribers. The UK economy contracted 0.3% in the fourth quarter. However, economists were expecting a 0.1% fall in GDP. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.23%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.16%, German DAX 30 Index surged 1.04% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.64%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 2.88%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.49% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.52%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.08% and India's Sensex climbed 0.90%. The ICE dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.22% to trade at 79.81, down from 79.974 in North America on Thursday. The euro gained 0.36% versus the US dollar to trade at $1.3426. The dollar surged 0.61% against the Japanese unit to trade at ¥90.88, up from ¥90.38. Gold for February delivery fell $1.40 to $1,668.50 an ounce on Friday.