US Stock Futures Flat; Trade Data, Moody's Earnings In Focus

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting trade data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 13,901.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.30 points to 1,505.60. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 2.75 points to 2,745.00.

US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.30% to 13,944.05, the S&P 500 index falling 0.18% to 1,509.39 and the Nasdaq 100 index declining 0.11% to 3,165.13.

Data on international trade gap for December will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while data on wholesale inventories for December will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (NYSE: AXL) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.10 per share on revenue of $729.35 million. Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ: BECN) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $525.50 million. AOL (NYSE: AOL) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.41 per share on revenue of $573.71 million.

Entergy (NYSE: ETR) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.40 per share on revenue of $3.13 billion. Belo (NYSE: BLC) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.33 per share on revenue of $203.93 million. Carlisle Companies (NYSE: CSL) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.78 per share on revenue of $826.60 million.

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $1.62 per share on revenue of $1.39 billion. Moody's (NYSE: MCO) is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.69 per share on revenue of $683.34 million. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE: BIP) is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $504.40 million.

LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) reported upbeat fourth-quarter results.

Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR) reported weaker-than-expected Q4 revenue and issued downbeat Q1 forecast.

European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.37%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.39%, German DAX 30 Index rose 0.01% and French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.43%.

Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 1.80%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.57% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index rising 0.68%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.16% and India's Sensex fell 0.49%.

China's exports surged 25% y/y, versus a 14.1% y/y rise in December. The country's imports climbed 28.8%, versus a 6% rise in the previous month.

The euro gained 0.13% versus the dollar to trade at $1.3415, up from $1.3392.

The dollar dropped 1.12% against the Japanese yen to trade at 92.5850, down from 93.41.

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.