US Stock Futures Up; GM Earnings, Economic Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data and earnings from General Motors Company GM. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 23 points to 14,659.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2 points to 1,579.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5 points to 2,868.50. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.94% to 14,700.95, the S&P 500 index tumbling 0.93% to 1,582.70 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.89% to 3,299.13. Data on international trade gap for March, initial jobless claims and nonfarm business productivity for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the EIA weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET. Facebook FB reported its Q1 profit at $219 million, or $0.09 per share, on revenue of $1.46 billion. Visa V reported upbeat quarterly results. General Motors Company is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $36.60 billion. Kellogg Company K is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $1.03 per share on revenue of $3.94 billion. Airgas ARG is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $1.26 billion. Mylan MYL is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.62 per share on revenue of $1.69 billion. American International Group AIG is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.87 per share on revenue of $8.64 billion. Gartner IT is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.40 per share on revenue of $408.16 million. Cigna CI is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.43 per share on revenue of $7.31 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.10 per share on revenue of $4.85 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies MMC is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.69 per share on revenue of $3.18 billion. Kraft Foods Group KRFT is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of4.49 billion. Teradata TDC is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $612.09 million. Dole Food Company DOLE is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $1.05 billion. European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.14%, London's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.28%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.29% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.14%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.76%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.17% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropping 0.77%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.30% and India's Sensex surged 1.16%.