US Stock Futures Up; Citigroup Earnings, Retail Sales Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting retail sales data and earnings from Citigroup (NYSE: C). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 47 points to 13,292.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 6.50 points to 1,428.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 18 points to 2,728.00.US stocks closed mostly lower on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.02% to 13,328.85, the S&P 500 index dropping 0.30% to 1,428.59 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.17% to 3,044.11. Data on retail sales for September and the Empire State Index for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, data on business inventories for August will be released at 10 a.m. ET.Citigroup is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.96 per share on revenue of $18.35 billion. Brown & Brown (NYSE: BRO) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.35 per share on revenue of $311.00 million.The Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) is estimated to post its Q3 earnings at $0.17 per share on revenue of $1.20 billion. CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: CX) is expected to report a Q3 loss at $0.06 per share on revenue of $3.95 billion.Gannett Co (NYSE: GCI) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $1.29 billion. Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.56 per share on revenue of $720.57 million.Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is planning to cut around 20% of its workforce, a source familiar with the matter said. Softbank (OTC: SFTBF) agreed to buy around 70% stake in Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) for about $20.1 billion.European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.73%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.54%, French CAC 40 Index surges 1.29% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.87%.Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.51%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.30% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.10%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.06% and India's Sensex gained 0.23%.Chinese consumer prices increased 1.9% y/y in September, versus 2% inflation rate in August, according to official data. Crude-oil futures for November delivery dropped $0.35 to trade at $91.51 a barrel. The ICE dollar index (DXY) fell 0.01% to trade at 79.67.