US Stock Futures Slightly Up After Prior Session's Rally, Crude Oil Futures Drop To $104.82 Per Barrel

US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, after the prior session's rally. Oil futures dropped to $104.82 a barrel. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 27 points to 12,226.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index gained 2.40 points to 1,322.50. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1 point to 2,334.75.

US stocks closed higher, with the blue-chip Dow index surging 1.03% to close at $12,214.38 on Tuesday.

Data on wholesale inventories for January will be released at 10 a.m. ET.

Shares of Nokia Corp NOK gained about 1.3% in pre-market trading after analysts at Bernstein upgraded the mobile-phone giant from “underperform” to “market perform” late Tuesday.

Diamond Foods Inc DMND reported its Q2 earnings at $19.7 million, or $0.87 per share, up from $8.8 million, or $0.52 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time items, Diamond's earnings came in at $0.91 per share. The company's revenue increased 40% to $257.6 million. However, analysts had been expecting adjusted earnings of $0.89 per share on revenue of $265.1 million. Diamond lifted its full-year earnings guidance to $2.45 to $2.51 per share, excluding on-time items, from $2.43 to $2.49 per share. However, analysts were projecting full-year earnings of $2.51 per share.

Boston Beer Co SAM reported its Q4 earnings at $12.2 million, or $0.87 per share, up from $7.5 million, or $0.52 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue rose 8% to $115.7 million. However, analysts had been expecting earnings of $0.90 per share on revenue of $118.5 million. SAM projects 2011 earnings of $3.45 to $3.95 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $3.91 per share.

Children's Place Retail Stores Inc PLCE is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $1.01 on revenue of $468.54 million. Bon-Ton Stores Inc BONT is expected to report its Q4 EPS at $4.30 on revenue of $1.02 billion. Jo-Ann Stores Inc JAS is estimated to report its Q4 EPS at $1.53 on revenue of $626.38 million.

Men's Wearhouse Inc MW is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.20 per share on revenue of $537.40 million. H&R Block Inc HRB is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $0.00 on revenue of $849.29 million. American Eagle Outfitters Inc AEO is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $923.01 million.

Navistar International Corp NAV reported its Q1 EPS, ex-items, at $0.16, versus the consensus of $0.23. NAV reported its Q1 revenue at $2.74 billion, versus the consensus of $2.9 billion.

European markets were mixed today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.32%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.35%.

Most Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.61%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.80% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.42% and India's Sensex gained 0.16%.

New York crude oil for April delivery fell $0.20 to $104.82 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.

Gold futures for April delivery gained $3.30 to $1,430.50 an ounce.

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