US Stock Futures Up After G-7 Intervention, China Raises Banks' Reserve Requirement Ratio

US stock futures are higher this morning, as finance ministers and central bankers from the G-7 nations decided to intervene in currency markets to support Japan in curbing the Japanese currency's rise after strong earthquake and tsunami. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 63 points to 11,774.00, while those for the S&P 500 stock index climbed 6.40 points to 1,275.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 11.50 points to 2,237.50.

US stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 1.39%, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gaining 1.34% and the Nasdaq 100 index rising 0.73%.

Nike Inc NKE reported its FQ3 profit at $523 million, or $1.08 per share, up from $497 million, or $1.01 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's sales increased 7% to $5 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.12 per share on revenue of $5.18 billion. Nike's gross margin dropped 110 basis points to 45.8%.

Cost Plus Inc CPWM reported its Q4 profit at $28.5 million, or $1.23 per share, versus $21.1 million, or $0.95 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. The company's revenue surged to $341.6 million from $319 million. CPWM projects a Q1 loss from continuing operations of $0.22 to $0.28 per share on revenue of $196 million to $200 million.

Pall Corp PLL reported that its board of directors separated the roles of chairman and CEO. The company also named Ronald Hoffman as its non-executive chairman.

Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 2.72%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.67% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.33%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.07% and India's Sensex dropped 271.06 points. China's central bank lifted banks' reserve requirement ratio 0.5%.

Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.08%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.29%.

The Japanese yen dropped against the dollar and major currencies. Against the yen, the dollar surged 3.4684% to 81.6900 yen, versus 79.14 yen.

The United Nations Security Council approved a no-fly zone over Libya. Crude futures for April gained 1.16% to $102.60 a barrel. However, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.88% to $1,417 an ounce.

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