US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of GE Earnings

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from General Electric Company GE. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 89 points to 14,499.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 10.70 points to 1,544.90. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 18.25 points to 2,757.75. US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.56% to 14,537.14, the S&P 500 index declining 0.67% to 1,541.61 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 1.20% to 3,166.36. Fed Gov. Jeremy Stein is expected to speak at 12:00 p.m. ET. Google GOOG reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Microsoft MSFT reported a 19% surge in its quarterly profit. General Electric Company is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.35 per share on revenue of $34.63 billion. Baker Hughes BHI is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.63 per share on revenue of $5.18 billion. Honeywell International HON is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.14 per share on revenue of $9.44 billion. McDonald's MCD is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $1.27 per share on revenue of $6.59 billion. Kimberly-Clark KMB is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.34 per share on revenue of $5.28 billion. Kansas City Southern KSU is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.88 per share on revenue of $571.33 million. State Street STT is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.93 per share on revenue of $2.48 billion. Schlumberger SLB is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.99 per share on revenue of $10.74 billion. The Interpublic Group of Companies IPG is estimated to post a Q1 loss at $0.12 per share on revenue of $1.53 billion. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.82%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.58%, French CAC 40 Index surged 1.03% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.50%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.73%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 2.14% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.24%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 2.33%.