US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Lowe's Earnings

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Lowe's Companies (NYSE: LOW). Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 47 points to 14,028.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 5.90 points to 1,520.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 15.25 points to 2,751.00.US stocks closed higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 0.86% to 14,000.57, the S&P 500 index rising 0.88% to 1,515.60 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.97% to 3,161.82. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Dallas Fed general business activity index for February will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhard will speak on the economic outlook in Knoxville, Tenn.Lowe's Companies is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.23 per share on revenue of $10.84 billion. Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $2.24 billion. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co (NYSE: CTB) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.85 per share on revenue of $1.03 million.Donaldson Company (NYSE: DCI) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.38 per share on revenue of $605.26 million. Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.49 per share on revenue of $586.16 million. Titan International (NYSE: TWI) is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.47 per share on revenue of $560.08 million.Kindred Healthcare (NYSE: KND) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $1.57 billion. Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.60 per share on revenue of $418.40 million. General Cable (NYSE: BGC) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $1.61 billion. Shanda Games (NASDAQ: GAME) is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $171.96 million.European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.14%, London's FTSE 100 Index surged 1.20%, French CAC 40 Index rose 1.11% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.36%.Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 2.43%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.50% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.71%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.17% and India's Sensex rose 0.08%.Gold for delivery in April surged $18 to $1,590.80 an ounce in electronic trading.The ICE dollar index (DXY) declined 0.16% to trade at 81.33, down from 81.454 in North America on Friday. The euro gained 0.18% versus the dollar to trade at $1.3241, versus $1.3182 late Friday.