US Stock Futures Slightly Higher Ahead Of Housing Starts, Producer Price Index

US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting housing starts data and the producer price index. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 7 points to 14,014.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.20 points to 1,529.10. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.50 points to 2,785.00. US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 0.39% to 14,035.67, the S&P 500 index rising 0.73% to 1,530.94 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.68% to 3,213.59. Data on housing starts for January and the producer price index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Open Market Committee will release minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Dell DELL reported upbeat fourth-quarter earnings. Demand Media DMD reported that its board is exploring a plan to split the company into two separate publicly traded firms. Dish Network DISH is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.51 per share on revenue of $3.56 billion. Sonic Automotive SAH is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.50 per share on revenue of $2.33 billion. Tesla Motors TSLA is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.53 per share on revenue of $298.90 million. Owens Corning OC is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.16 per share on revenue of $1.16 billion. Garmin GRMN is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $833.43 million. KAR Auction Services KAR is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $493.84 million. Fluor FLR is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.98 per share on revenue of $7.20 billion. Williams Companies WMB is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.26 per share on revenue of $2.03 billion. Crocs CROX is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.00 per share on revenue of $219.90 million. Devon Energy DVN is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.75 per share on revenue of $2.37 billion. European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.19%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.35%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.14% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.21%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 0.84%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.60% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.71% and India's Sensex rose 0.04%. The US dollar dropped 0.14% against the Japanese yen to trade at ¥93.44. The ICE dollar index (DXY) fell 0.04% to trade at 80.48.