US Stock Futures Mixed; Alcoa Posts Higher Profit

US stock futures are mixed this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 5 points to 14,558.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.90 points to 1,560.10. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5.75 points to 2,786.75. US stocks closed higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 0.33% to 14,613, the S&P 500 index rising 0.63% to 1,563 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 0.57% to 3,222. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for March will be released at 7:30 a.m. ET. The ICSC-Goldman comparable store sales index will be released at 7:45 a.m. ET, while the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index will be released at 8:55 a.m. ET. Data on wholesale inventories for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Alcoa AA reported a rise in its first quarter earnings. J.C. Penney Co JCP CEO Ron Johnson is stepping down. Zep ZEP is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $167.06 million. ADTRAN ADTN is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.08 per share on revenue of $139.82 million. PriceSmart PSMT is expected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.77 per share on revenue of $609.67 million. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.30%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.41%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.53% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.12%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.24 points, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.64% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.37%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.70% and India's Sensex fell 1.15%.