US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of GE Earnings

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from General Electric Company GE. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 33 points to 15,448.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.80 points to 1,677.80. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 8 points to 3,039.50. US stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.50% to 15,548.54, the S&P 500 index rising 0.50% to 1,689.37 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.04% to 3,611.28. Google GOOG reported downbeat second-quarter earnings. Microsoft MSFT reported weaker-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit. General Electric Company is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.36 per share on revenue of $35.58 billion. Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings LH is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $1.80 per share on revenue of $1.46 billion. V.F. Corporation VFC is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.17 per share on revenue of $2.26 billion. Whirlpool WHR is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $2.39 per share on revenue of $4.66 billion. State Street STT is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $1.19 per share on revenue of $2.54 billion. Rockwell Collins COL is projected to report its Q3 earnings at $1.16 per share on revenue of $1.17 billion. Schlumberger SLB is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.10 per share on revenue of $11.11 billion. Honeywell International HON is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $1.21 per share on revenue of $9.70 billion. Autoliv ALV is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.38 per share on revenue of $2.16 billion. Baker Hughes BHI is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.65 per share on revenue of $5.26 billion. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.34%, London's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.51%, French CAC 40 Index declined 0.49% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.52%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.48%, China's Shanghai Composite declining 1.52% and Australia's ASX/S&P500 dropping 0.35%. Hong Kong's Heng Seng Index rose 0.08% and India's Sensex gained 0.18%.