US Stock Futures Signal Brighter Market Today (XOM, TM, BP, TOT)

US stock futures took a U turn today as traders started looking past Greece and China issues to focus on the earnings season where most companies excelled in terms of earnings and revenues. While futures at the S&P 500 gained 4.1 points to 1074.50, those at the NASDAQ 100 moved up 4.75 points to 1744.00. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 37 points.

After the release of US data on Friday, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Andrew McLaughlin, said that although the US economy is recovering, it is too early to say that the recovery is consistent. Investors are now awaiting the US data for personal income and construction spending and January manufacturing index from the Institute for Supply Management.

Some of the companies that may hog the limelight today are Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM), which reports results today, and Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM), which has reportedly formed a plan to fix 9.5 million vehicles affected by its two recalls.

Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei average finished flat today, as investors chose to stick to companies that had exceeded consensus expectations. Meanwhile, TM, which had slipped almost 14% over the past week on its recall woes, lost another 1.2%.

European stocks dipped in early trade, pulled down by energy shares such as Total (NYSE: TOT) and BP (NYSE: BP). Media major Vivendi (PINK: VIVDY) also sank after a US jury found the company responsible for misleading investors about its financial condition ten years back. This could result in the company paying billions of dollars in damages.

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