US Stock Futures Up After Strong Euro-Zone Growth; Gold, Silver Futures Rise

US stock futures are higher this morning, after data showed strong Q1 growth in the euro zone. Gold and silver prices also surged, while the US dollar dropped versus major currencies. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 19 points to 12,691.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 2.30 points to 1,349.80. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 2 points to 2,409.00. US stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 0.52% to 12,695.92, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rising 0.49% to 1,348.65 and the NASDAQ composite index surging 0.63% to 2,863.04. Agilent Technologies Inc A is projected to report its FQ2 EPS at $0.65 on revenue of $1.60 billion. Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT agreed to buy a minority stake in the holding company of Chinese eCommerce company Yihaodian. Nordstrom Inc JWN reported weaker-than-expected Q1 earnings and announced a share buyback plan. The company's quarterly earnings came in at $145 million, or $0.65 per share, versus $116 million, or $0.52 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its sales increased 12% to $2.23 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.66 per share on revenue of $2.3 billion. Nordstrom's board also authorized a stock repurchase plan of up to $750 million of the company's common stock. The company also lowered its full-year projections. NVIDIA Corp NVDA reported its FQ1 profit at $135.2 million, or $0.22 per share, down from $137.6 million, or $0.23 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue dropped to $962 million, from $1 billion. Its adjusted income came in at $0.27 per share. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.19 per share on revenue of $948 million. Yum! Brands Inc YUM made an offer of HK$6.50 per share in cash to buy out most of the shares of Little Sheep restaurants that it does not already own for about HK$4.56 billion ($586 million). Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dipping 0.70%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.23% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.95%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.88% and India's Sensex surged 1.35%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.04%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.61%. The euro-zone gross domestic product expanded by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2011, versus the earlier three months. In Germany, GDP rose by 1.5% in the first quarter. Gold for June delivery gained $6.40 to $1,513.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Silver for July delivery gained 3.93%. The US dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.27% to 75.03, down from 75.199 in North American trading late Thursday. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.