US Stock Futures Higher Ahead Of Retail Sales Data

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting retail sales data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points to 13,988.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.50 points to 1,517.50. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 4.75 points to 2,765.25. US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.34% to 14,018.70, the S&P 500 index rising 0.16% to 1,519.43 and the Nasdaq 100 index dropping 0.17% to 3,186.49. Data on retail sales for January and import prices for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, data on business inventories for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dean Foods Company DF is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.30 per share on revenue of $3.37 billion. Lorillard LO is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $1.16 billion. Cisco Systems CSCO is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.48 per share on revenue of $12.06 billion. Deere & Company DE is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.40 per share on revenue of $6.72 billion. Duke Energy DUK is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.64 per share on revenue of $5.55 billion. NetApp NTAP is projected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.56 per share on revenue of $1.62 billion. Hospira HSP is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.54 per share on revenue of $1.04 billion. Whole Foods Market WFM is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.77 per share on revenue of $3.86 billion. NVIDIA NVDA is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.24 per share on revenue of $1.10 billion. Applied Materials AMAT is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.03 per share on revenue of $1.54 billion. Avis Budget Group CAR is estimated to post a Q4 loss at $0.07 per share on revenue of $1.63 billion. Dr Pepper Snapple Group DPS is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.85 per share on revenue of $1.49 billion. Comcast CMCSA announced its plans to acquire General Electric's GE 49% equity stake in their NBCUniversal joint venture. Comcast also reported an 18% surge in its fourth-quarter profit. The Western Union Company WU reported a 47% drop in its fourth-quarter earnings. European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.13%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.32%, German DAX 30 Index rose 0.10% and French CAC 40 Index fell 0.22%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.04%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.86% and India's Sensex gaining 0.24%. Crude oil futures for March delivery gained $0.13 to trade at $97.64 a barrel in electronic trade.