US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of EU Summit; GE Earnings In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, ahead of the weekend's EU summit. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 37 points to 11,509.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.30 points to 1,214.20. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 10 points to 2,311.00.

US stocks closed mostly higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.32% to 11,541.78, the S&P 500 index rising 0.46% to 1,215.39 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.21% to 2,598.62.

McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.43 per share on revenue of $7.02 billion. General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.31 on sales of $34.8 billion. Schlumberger Ltd (NYSE: SLB) is projected to post its Q3 EPS at $1.01 on revenue of $10.2 billion.

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $0.55 on revenue of $27.86 billion. Honeywell International Inc (NYSE: HON) is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.96 on sales of $9.26 billion.

The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.07 on revenue of $307.75 million. Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV) is estimated to report its Q3 EPS at $1.13 on revenue of $2.18 billion. Harman International Industries Inc (NYSE: HAR) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.52 per share on revenue of $966.7 million.

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported its FQ1 profit at $0.68 per share on revenue of $17.37 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $17.24 billion.

Shares of Seagate Technology Inc (NASDAQ: STX) jumped about 13% in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat FQ1 profit. The company reported its quarterly revenue at $2.8 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $2.9 billion.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.90%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.58%, French CAC 40 index surged 0.87% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.55%.

Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.0376%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.08% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.60%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.2370% and India's Sensex declined 0.75%.

Nymex crude-oil futures gained $0.29 to $86.36 a barrel in electronic trade. However, gold futures climbed $10.50 to $1,623.40 an ounce.