(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer) US stock futures pointed rose on Friday after Microsoft reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street's forecast.
At 8:14 am ET, the S&P 500 futures advanced 1.20 points to 1092. The Dow Jones Industrial average futures rose 8 points to 10046. The Nasdaq Composite futures gained 3.75 points to 1766.25.
Early on Friday, software giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:
MSFT) said that net income fell to $3.57 billion, or 40 cents a share, from $4.37 billion, or 48 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue dropped 14% to $12.92 billion
Whirlpool (NYSE:
WHR) announced that its third quarter net income fell to $87 million, or $1.15 per share, from $163 million, or $2.15 per share, in the prior-year quarter. Revenue slipped 8 percent to $4.5 billion from $4.9 billion.
Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSEL:
SLB) said that is third quarter net income slumped to $787 million, or 65 cents per share, from $1.53 billion, or $1.25 a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Quarterly revenue tumbled 25 percent to $5.43 billion from $7.26 billion a year ago.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:
HON) reported Friday that its third-quarter net income decreased 15% to $608 million, or 80 cents per share, from $719 million, or 97 cents per share, in the comparable quarter last year. Revenue dropped 17 percent to $7.7 billion.
Late on Thursday, credit card lender American Express Co. (NYSE:
AXP) reported that its third quarter net income dropped 21% to $640 million, or 53 cents a share in the third quarter, compared to $815 million, or 70 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Online retailer Amazon (NASDAQ:
AMZN) said Thursday that third quarter net income jumped 62% to $199 million, or 45 cents a share, from $118 million, or 27 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Revenue surged 28% to $5.45 billion.
On the economic front, new home sales data is due for release at 10:00 am ET.
US stocks finished with solid gains on Thursday as stronger-than expected corporate earnings reinforced investor optimism.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 13:16 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 77.21 points or 1.48% to 5,284.57. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.05% and 1.12% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 15.82 points or 0.15% to $10,282.99. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 379.21 points or 1.71% to 22,589.73.
NYMEX crude oil for December delivery climbed 8 cents to $81.27 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
