US Stock Futures Up After Strong Dell Earnings; Fed In Focus

US stock futures are higher this morning, after upbeat earnings from Dell Inc DELL. Investors are awaiting the minutes from the meeting of the US Federal Reserve. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 32 points to 12,469.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 3.20 points to 1,328.60. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5.50 points to 2,342.75. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.55% to close at 12,479.58, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 0.04% to close at 1,328.98 and the NASDAQ composite index gained 0.03% to close at 2,783.21. The minutes from the meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET. The latest inventory figures from the Department of Energy will also be released on Wednesday. BJ's Wholesale Club Inc BJ is estimated to post its Q1 earnings at $0.56 per share on revenue of $2.82 billion. Deere & Company DE is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $2.06 on revenue of $8.14 billion. Target Corp TGT is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.94 per share on revenue of $16.02 billion. Advanced Auto Parts Inc AAP is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $1.38 on revenue of $1.92 billion. Ross Stores Inc ROST is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.47 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion. Jack In The Box Inc JACK is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $482.83 million. Limited Brands Inc LTD is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.39 on revenue of $2.22 billion. Petsmart Inc PETM is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $1.48 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.11 on revenue of $825.64 million. Shares of Dell Inc surged about 5.9% in pre-market trading after the company reported its fiscal first-quarter net income at $945 million, or $0.49 per share, up from $341 million, or $0.17 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue rose 1% to $15 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company's earnings came in at $1.05 billion, or $0.55 per share, for the latest quarter. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $15.4 billion. Dell lifted its earnings forecast for the fiscal year. The company now projects its non-GAAP operating income to rise 12% to 18%, versus with its earlier growth range of 6% to 12%. Analog Devices Inc ADI reported a 44% rise in its profit for its fiscal second quarter. The company's net income surged to $241.8 million, or $0.78 per share, from $167.1 million, or $0.55 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding the impact of a one-time federal tax benefit, the company's earnings came in at $0.75 per share. Its revenue increased to $790.8 million, from $668.2 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.68 per share on revenue of $746.5 million. Analog Devices projects FQ3 earnings of $0.70 to $0.75 per share, on revenue of $765 million to $795 million. However, analysts expected earnings of $0.70 per share on revenue of $762.7 million. The company lifted its quarterly dividend by 14% to $0.25 per share. Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.99%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.26% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.70%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.48% and India's Sensex dipped 0.28%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.33%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.83%. Moody's Investors Service lowered the long-term senior unsecured debt ratings of Australia's four major banks from “Aa1” to “Aa2.” Light crude for June delivery gained $1.47 to $98.38 a barrel in electronic trading on the Globex market. Silver for July delivery surged $0.91 to $24.40 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.1% to 75.28. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.