By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures rallied on Friday,
with investors waiting for a speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman
Janet Yellen and digesting another set of prominent corporate
earnings, after a volatile week when concerns about global growth
sent financial markets on a roller-coaster ride.
Futures for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) jumped 24.60 points, or
1.3%, to 1,875.20, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJZ4) (DJZ4) gained 176 points, or 1.1%, to 16,191. Futures for
the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) picked up 53.25 points, or 1.4%, to
3,794.75
The sharp gains came after a choppy session on Wall Street on
Thursday, when the benchmarks fell around 1% at the open. However,
they recovered throughout the day, helped by comments from James
Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, who raised the
possibility of extending bond purchases. Bullard isn't a voting
member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market
Committee.
Earnings: Several heavyweights reported results ahead of the
opening bell. General Electric Co. (GE) shares rose 3.5% in
premarket action after third-quarter earnings topped market
expectations.
Defense contractor Honeywell International Inc. (HON) lifted its
low end of its 2014 per-share outlook, after third-quarter earnings
beat expectations, sending the shares 1.3% higher.
Morgan Stanley (MS) gained 3.4% ahead of the open after the bank
reported third-quarter earnings that topped forecasts.
Another bank, Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) said
third-quarter profit climbed 11%.
Movers and shakers: Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) slid 14% in
premarket trade after the retailer late Thursday warned weaker
sales trends first reported in September are continuing.
Google Inc. (GOOGL) slipped 1% premarket after the Internet
giant late Thursday reported third-quarter below forecasts. Revenue
rose to $16.52 billion from $13.75 billion.
SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) slumped 2.1% ahead of the bell on Friday,
after the memory-chip maker on Thursday reported a drop in
profit.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) fell 1.5% in Friday's
premarket trade. The chip maker on Thursday reported third-quarter
adjusted earnings of 3 cents a share, below the 4 cents a share
forecast by analysts. AMD also announced it will cut 7% of its
global workforce by the end of the fourth quarter.
Fed speakers: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen will speak
on income inequality at the Boston Fed conference in Boston at 8:30
a.m. Eastern Time.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren also speaks at the
conference at 8:30 a.m. Rosengren is not a voting member of the Fed
policy committee this year.
Data: Housing-starts figures for September come out at 8:30 a.m.
and it's likely that the pace of home construction picked up last
month following a surprisingly large drop in August.
Also Friday, markets will get a fresh reading on consumer
sentiment, which will be released at 9:55 a.m.
Other markets: European markets rebounded after the recent
market slide, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index up for the first time
in nine sessions.
Asian stocks closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down
1.4%.
Oil markets took a breather on Friday after crude futures
touched below $80 a barrel for the first time since June 2012 on
Thursday. Metals were mixed, while the dollar fell against most
major currencies.
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