US Stock Futures Up; Apple Earnings, Economic Data In Focus: April 24, 2012

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 37 points to 12,908.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.60 points to 1,367.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 12 points to 2,662.25.
 
US stocks closed lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.78% to 12,927.17, the S&P 500 index falling 0.84% to 1,366.94 and the Nasdaq 100 index dropping 1% to 2,970.45.
 
Data on Case-Shiller home prices for February will be released at 9 a.m. ET. The consumer confidence index for April and new home sales for March will be released at 10 a.m. ET.
 
3M Co (NYSE: MMM) is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $1.49 on revenue of $7.49 billion. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is estimated to post its quarterly EPS at $10.06 on revenue of $36.81 billion. Nabors Industries Ltd (NYSE: NBR) is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.50 on revenue of $1.80 billion.
 
United States Steel Corp (NYSE: X) is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.45 on revenue of $4.95 billion. The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is expected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.81 on revenue of $1.66 billion. United Technologies Corp (NYSE: UTX) is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $1.20 on revenue of $12.71 billion. Reynolds American Inc (NYSE: RAI) is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.65 on revenue of $1.98 billion.
 
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $0.40 on revenue of $1.37 billion. International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $0.25 on revenue of $517.44 million. Illinois Tool Works Inc (NYSE: ITW) is projected to post its Q1 EPS at $0.95 on revenue of $4.60 billion. Lexmark International Inc (NYSE: LXK) is estimated to post its Q1 EPS at $1.04 on revenue of $986.38 million.
 
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) reported a loss for the first quarter.
 
Texas Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: TXN) reported upbeat first-quarter earnings.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.73%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.46%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.91% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.81%.
 
Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declining 0.78%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.01% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.26% and India's Sensex rose 0.65%.
 
Crude oil futures for June delivery gained $0.07 to $103.18 a barrel. However, gold futures for June delivery climbed $6.30 to $1,638.90 an ounce.
 
The ICE dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.04% to trade at 79.34, versus 79.406 in late North American trading Monday.

By Monica Gerson