US Stock Futures Up; EU Summit In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 58 points to 12,002.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 6.30 points to 1,236.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 8 points to 2,289.50. US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 1.63% to 11,997.70, the S&P 500 index dipping 2.11% to 1,234.35 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 1.99% to 2,596.38. Data on October trade will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The preliminary reading of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumers for December will be released after the opening bell. Economic Cycle Research Institute is scheduled to release its weekly index of economic activity for December 2. Titan Machinery Inc

is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.51 per share on revenue of $385.7 million. Comverse Technology Inc

is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.16 on revenue of $401.58 million. Altera Corp

lowered its Q4 revenue projections. Texas Instruments Incorporated

now projects Q4 revenue in the range of $3.19 billion to $3.33 billion, versus its earlier range of $3.26 billion to $3.54 billion. It also projects earnings of $0.21 to $0.25 per share, versus its earlier forecast of $0.28 to $0.36 per share. Pall Corp

reported a 2.7% drop in its fiscal first-quarter profit. Moody's Investors Service downgraded the debt ratings of Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.12%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.13%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.67% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.38%. Majority of EU nations have agreed to pursue closer fiscal ties. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.4266%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.72% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.62%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.7297% and India's Sensex dipped 1.67%. The euro surged 0.65% versus the greenback to trade at $1.3427.