US Stock Futures Signal Higher Start On Wall Street; Research In Motion Down, Oracle Up In Pre-Market Trading

US stock futures are higher this morning. Oracle Corp ORCL and Research In Motion Ltd RIMM reported their quarterly results late Thursday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 52 points to 12,168.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 6.20 points to 1,311.40. Nasdaq 100 futures added 11 points to 2,319.50. US stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 0.70% to 12,171, the S&P 500 index rising 0.93% to 1,310 and the Nasdaq 100 index gaining 1.41% to 2,736. The final revision to Q4 gross domestic product (GDP) will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for March will also be released today. Accenture Plc ACN reported its FQ2 earnings at $557.6 million, or $0.75 per share, compared with $458.2 million, or $0.60 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's revenue climbed 17% to $6.5 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.71 per share on revenue of $5.75 billion. ACN projects Q3 revenue between $6.3 billion and $6.5 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $5.95 billion. Shares of Oracle Corp gained about 3.9% in pre-market trading after the company reported its Q3 net income at $2.1 billion, or $0.41 per share, up from $1.19 billion, or $0.23 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company's revenue increased 37% to $8.76 billion. Excluding one-time items, Oracle's earnings came in at $0.54 per share. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.50 per share on revenue of $8.7 billion. The company also lifted its quarterly dividend and issued upbeat profit projections for the current period. Shares of Research In Motion Ltd dipped about 13% in pre-market trading after the company issued disappointing projections. The company reported its FQ4 net income at $934 million, or $1.78 per share, up from $710 million, or $1.27 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue surged 36% to $5.56 billion. Analysts expected RIMM to report earnings of $1.75 per share on revenue of $5.65 billion. The company projects current-quarter earnings of $1.47 to $1.55 per share on revenue of $5.2 billion to $5.6 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.65 per share on revenue of $5.67 billion for the same period. Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.33%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.62%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.07%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.96% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.06%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.06% and India's Sensex climbed 2.53%. The US dollar gained 0.2% against the Japanese yen to ¥81.196. Crude oil for May delivery gained $0.06 to $105.66 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.