Investing.com – U.S. futures were mixed on Thursday, as investors pause before a flurry of earnings results.
The S&P 500 futures rose three points or 0.12% to 2,807.25 as of 7:07 AM ET (12:07 GMT) while Dow futures increased 37 points or 0.14% to 26,135.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell two points or 0.04% to 6,821.25.
Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) rose 1.48% in pre-market trading after its earnings came in higher than expected. Other banks are expected to release their earnings today, including Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and American Express (NYSE:AXP). Technology firm IBM (NYSE:IBM) is also expected to report their financial results after the markets close.
Earnings season is already off to a strong start, with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and U.S. Bancorp Po ADR (NYSE:USB_po) releasing better-than-expected results on Wednesday.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, inching up 0.22% while telecommunications firm Vodafone Group PLC (LON:VOD) ADR (NASDAQ:VOD) rose 0.67% and solar power firm Spi Energy Co Ltd (NASDAQ:SPI) surged 64.37% after it announced it would explore blockchain-based infrastructure.
Elsewhere financial institution HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) PLC ADR (NYSE:HSBC) fell 0.97% while investment firm Eagle Point Credit Company Inc (NYSE:ECCB) slumped 5.18% and aluminium company Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Corp lost 5.42%.
In economic news, jobless claims, housing starts and building permits, and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing business outlook survey are all released at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).
In Europe stocks were mixed. Germany’s DAX rose 40 points or 0.30% while in France the CAC 40 increased seven points or 0.13% and in London, the FTSE 100 was down 31 points or 0.40%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained six points or 0.17% while Spain’s IBEX 35 lost 24 points or 0.23%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.65% to $1,330.50 a troy ounce while crude oil futures rose 0.08% to $64.02 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, decreased 0.33% to 90.35.