US Stock Futures Up As Investors Await Earnings Reports

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting quarterly earnings from major companies. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 71 points to 12,399.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 8.30 points to 1,308.70. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 15.75 points to 2,355.75. US stocks closed lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 0.76% to 12,385.16, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declining 0.81% to 1,305.44 and the NASDAQ composite index dipping 0.89% to 2,765.11. Data on housing starts for June will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. International Business Machines Corp IBM reported its Q2 profit at $3.66 billion, or $3 per share, up from $3.39 billion, or $2.61 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Its revenue surged 12% to $26.7 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $3.03 per share on revenue of $25.35 billion. The company also lifted its earnings forecast for the full year. Harley-Davidson Inc HOG is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.71 on revenue of $1.26 billion. Yahoo! Inc YHOO is projected to report its Q2 earnings at $0.18 per share on revenue of $1.11 billion. Bank of America Corporation BAC is expected to post a Q2 loss at $0.90 per share on revenue of $12.34 billion. Apple Inc AAPL is projected to report its Q3 EPS at $5.80 on revenue of $24.92 billion. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (The) GS is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $2.27 on revenue of $8.14 billion. Coca-Cola Company (The) KO is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $1.16 on revenue of $12.40 billion. Johnson & Johnson JNJ is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $1.23 on revenue of $16.22 billion. Wells Fargo & Company WFC is expected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.69 on revenue of $20.46 billion. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.8497%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.01% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.65%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.4478% and India's Sensex gained 0.79%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.78%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.56%, German DAX 30 index rose 1.46% and France CAC 40 index rose 1.17%. Gold for August delivery gained $2.60 to $1,605 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.5% to 75.026.