US Stock Futures Mixed As Investors Await CPI, Jobless Claims Data

US stock futures are mixed this morning, as investors are awaiting the data on jobless claims and consumer prices. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 8 points to 12,260.00, while S&P 500 futures dropped 1.80 points to 1,331.20. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 3.50 points to 2,388.50. US markets gained on Wednesday after Fed officials raised their outlook for economic growth in 2011. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.50% to close at 12,288 yesterday. January's consumer price index and data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is scheduled to release its February business activity survey after the opening bell. Shares of NetApp Inc NTAP fell about 6% in pre-market trading after the company issued disappointing Q4 earnings forecast. NetApp reported its FQ3 net income at $172.5 million, or $0.42 per share, up from $107.9 million, or $0.30 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time charges, the company's earnings came in at $211 million, or $0.52 per share. NTAP's revenue surged 25% to $1.27 billion. However, analysts had expected earnings of $0.50 per share on revenue of $1.28 billion. NTAP projected its FQ4 earnings of $0.38 to $0.42 per share, or adjusted earnings of $0.49 to $0.53 per share on revenue of around $1.38 billion. However, analysts projected FQ4 adjusted earnings of $0.53 per share on revenue of $1.37 billion. Shares of Nvidia Corp NVDA fell around 1.6% in pre-market trading after the company reported Q4 results late Wednesday. NVDA reported its Q4 profit at $171.7 million, or $0.29 per share, versus $131.1 million, or$0.23 per share, in the year-earlier period. The latest period's results included a gain of $0.06 per share from the Intel INTC deal. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.14 per share. The company's revenue fell 9.8% to $886.4 million. NVDA also issued upbeat revenue projections for the first quarter. Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc DPS is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.64 on revenue of $1.40 billion. PG&E PCG is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.73 per share on revenue of $3.69 billion. Apache Corp APA is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $2.45 on revenue of $3.46 billion. Nordstrom Inc JWN is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $1 per share on revenue of $2.81 billion. European markets were mixed today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.07%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.07%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.26%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.15% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.11%. The dollar index dropped 0.02% to 78.21. The euro dropped about 0.1% against the dollar. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.