Investing.com – U.S. futures rallied on Friday as markets digest higher than expected earnings releases.
The S&P 500 futures rose 5 points or 0.21% as of 6:31 AM ET (11:31 AM GMT) while Dow futures jumped 87 points or 0.38% Tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 10 points or 0.17%.
The biggest gainers in pre-market trading included payment processor PayPal, which surged 4.07% after its third quarter earnings beat analyst expectations. Phone maker Nokia (HE:NOKIA) increased 2.40% while European telecommunications firm Vodafone (LON:VOD) rose 0.76%. Meanwhile social media site Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) jumped 2.69%.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) decreased 4.40% after the conglomerate’s third quarter earnings came in less than expected. Biopharmaceutical firm Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) was down 5.49% after a clinical trial failed, causing it to lose one of its key research drugs.
In other earnings news, manufacturer Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON), oil firm Baker Hughes A Ge Company LLC (NYSE:BHGE) and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) release their third-quarter results ahead of the morning bell.
In economic news, existing home sales comes out at 10:00 AM ET (3:00 PM GMT). Investors will be watching for indications that the U.S. housing sector is strengthening. Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester is also expected to speak at 2:00 PM ET (7:00 PM GMT).
European stocks were up after falling on Thursday amid Spanish political uncertainty. Germany’s DAX jumped 37 points or 0.29% while in France the CAC 40 was up 10 points or 0.19%. In London, the FTSE 100 increased 16 points or 0.22% while in Spain, the IBEX 35 inched forward five points or 0.05%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 rallied 11 points or 0.33%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.52% to $1,283.31 a troy ounce while crude oil futures decreased 0.83% to $50.87 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, jumped 0.41% to 93.38.