US Stock Futures Flat Ahead Of CPI Data

US stock futures are flat this morning, after a strong rise in the previous session. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 8 points to 12,878.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 0.20 points to 1,354.60. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 2 points to 2,591.50. US stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.96% to 12,904.08, the S&P 500 index surging 1.10% to 1,358.04 and the Nasdaq 100 index jumping 1.51% to 2,959.85. The consumer-price index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. H.J. Heinz Company HNZ is projected to post its FQ3 earnings at $0.86 per share on sales of $3.08 billion. Barnes Group Inc B is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.32 on revenue of $311.95 million. Pilgrim's Pride Corp PPC is expected to post a Q4 loss at $0.29 per share on revenue of $1.88 billion. Campbell Soup Company CPB is projected to post its FQ2 earnings at $0.62 per share on revenue of $2.12 billion. AMERIGROUP Corporation AGP is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $0.62 on revenue of $1.62 billion. Ventas Inc VTR is projected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.87 on revenue of $565.90 million. LifePoint Hospitals Inc LPNT is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.76 on revenue of $900.45 million. Enbridge Inc ENB is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.39 on revenue of $4.62 billion. Applied Materials Inc AMAT posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter profit and revenue. Frontier Communications Corp FTR posted a drop in its quarterly earnings. British retail sales climbed 0.9% in January, versus December last year. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.65%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.37%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.09% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.91%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 1.58%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.01% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.38%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.01% and India's Sensex surged 0.75%. Nymex crude-oil futures gained $0.31 to $102.62 a barrel. The euro gained 0.06% versus the US dollar to trade at $1.3142.