US Stock Futures Up; GM Earnings, Economic Data In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data and earnings from General Motors Company

. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 23 points to 14,659.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2 points to 1,579.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5 points to 2,868.50. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.94% to 14,700.95, the S&P 500 index tumbling 0.93% to 1,582.70 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.89% to 3,299.13. Data on international trade gap for March, initial jobless claims and nonfarm business productivity for the first quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while the EIA weekly report on natural gas stocks will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Data on money supply will be released at 4:30 p.m. ET. Facebook

reported its Q1 profit at $219 million, or $0.09 per share, on revenue of $1.46 billion. Visa

reported upbeat quarterly results. General Motors Company is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $36.60 billion. Kellogg Company

is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $1.03 per share on revenue of $3.94 billion. Airgas

is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $1.26 billion. Mylan

is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.62 per share on revenue of $1.69 billion. American International Group

is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.87 per share on revenue of $8.64 billion. Gartner

is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.40 per share on revenue of $408.16 million. Cigna

is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.43 per share on revenue of $7.31 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.10 per share on revenue of $4.85 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.69 per share on revenue of $3.18 billion. Kraft Foods Group

is expected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of4.49 billion. Teradata

is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $612.09 million. Dole Food Company

is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $1.05 billion. European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index dropped 0.14%, London's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.28%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.29% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.14%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.76%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.17% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropping 0.77%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.30% and India's Sensex surged 1.16%.