US Stock Futures Mixed As Investors Await GDP Data, Earnings Reports

US stock futures are mixed this morning, as investors are awaiting key gross domestic product data and earnings reports from several companies. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2 points to 12,643.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.10 point to 1,351.10. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.75 point to 2,408.25. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.76% to 12,690.96, the S&P 500 index surged 0.62% to 1,355.66 and the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.78% to 2,869.88. Data on first-quarter GDP data and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on pending home sales for March will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Microsoft Corp MSFT is expected to post its FQ3 earnings at $0.56 per share on revenue of $16.20 billion. Viacom Inc VIA is projected to report its FQ2 EPS at $0.61 on revenue of $3.00 billion. Safeway Inc SWY is estimated to report its Q1 EPS at $0.28 on revenue of $9.44 billion. Exxon Mobil Corp XOM is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $2.06 per share on revenue of $114.85 billion. PepsiCo Inc PEP is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $11.71 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co BMY is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.53 per share on revenue of $4.95 billion. Procter & Gamble Company (The) PG is projected to report its FQ3 EPS at $0.97 on revenue of $20.29 billion. eBay Inc EBAY reported a 20% surge in its Q1 earnings. The company reported net earnings at $476 million, or $0.36 per share, up from $398 million, or $0.30 per share, in the year-ago period. On a non-GAAP basis, the company's earnings came in at $619 million, or $0.47 per share. The company's revenue surged 16% to $2.55 billion. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $2.48 billion. The company projected Q2 earnings of $0.45 to $0.46 per share, on revenue of $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion. However, analysts expected Q2 earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $2.52 billion. Exelon Corp EXC announced its plans to acquire Constellation Energy Group Inc CEG for $38.59 per share, or $7.9 billion in total equity value. Panasonic Corp PC announced its plans to cut 35,000 jobs by March 2013. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke decided to leave the interest-rate target unchanged at 0% to 0.25% in the Fed's first post-statement press conference. European markets were higher today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.15%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.08%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.63%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.04% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.30%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.37% and India's Sensex lost 0.84%. Gold futures for May delivery on Nymex surged $16.10 to $1,532.70 an ounce. However, silver futures for May delivery gained $2.02 to $47.98 an ounce. The US dollar dropped versus its major rivals. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar declined to ¥81.75, versus ¥82.05 late Wednesday. Against the greenback, the euro rose to $1.4840, versus $1.4792 late Wednesday. Against the dollar, the British pound climbed to $1.6714 from $1.6635. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.