US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street

US stock futures are higher this morning, ahead of economic data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 114 points to 12,114.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 13 points to 1,256.50. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 21 points to 2,324.25.

US stocks closed flat on Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 0.01% to 12,019.42, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declining 0.02% to 1,244.28 and the NASDAQ composite index gaining 0.03% to 2,626.93.

Factory orders data for October and the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing report for November will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Investors are also awaiting a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today.

Dollar General Corp (NYSE: DG) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.47 per share on sales of $3.57 billion. Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co (NASDAQ: HITK) is projected to post its FQ2 EPS at $0.77 on sales of $51.4 million.

Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.13 per share on revenue of $523.17 million.

Walgreen Company (NYSE: WAG) is expected to issue its November monthly sales results.

Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 0.6043%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.76% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.16%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.7316% and India's Sensex fell 0.25%.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.75%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.46%, German DAX 30 index rose 0.86% and France CAC 40 index gained 1.22%.

According to the latest Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index, activity in Britain's services sector rose to 52.1 in November.

Gold futures for February delivery fell 0.36% to $1,745.00 an ounce. However, oil futures for January delivery gained $0.82 to $101.78 a barrel.

The dollar index (DXY) dropped fell 0.28% to 78.47.