US Stock Futures Up Ahead Economic Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 18 points to 14,473.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.60 points to 1,558.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.50 points to 2,806.75. US stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.23% to 14,526.16, the S&P 500 index falling 0.06% to 1,562.85 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.12% to 3,256.52. A final estimate of Q4 GDP and weekly jobless claims data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Chicago PMI for March and the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The EIA weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET, while the Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for March will be released at 11:00 a.m. ET. Red Hat

reported downbeat fiscal fourth-quarter revenue. PVH

issued weak earnings view for 2013. Finish Line

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $452.34 million. Accenture plc

is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.97 per share on revenue of $7.07 billion. Signet Jewelers

is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $2.09 per share on revenue of $1.49 billion. BlackBerry

is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.28 per share. GameStop

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $2.09 per share on revenue of $3.45 billion. UTi Worldwide

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $1.02 billion. Commercial Metals Company

is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $1.86 billion. Winnebago Industries

is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $170.86 million. Fred's

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.20 per share on revenue of $533.94 million. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.42%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.50%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.43% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.39%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.26%, China's Shanghai Composite tumbling 2.82% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.54%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.74% and India's Sensex surged 0.70%.