U.S. stock futures were mixed Friday morning, with investors looking to book some of the profits from this week where stocks climbed to their best 2009 levels, especially after some earnings misses from Microsoft and Amazon.U.S. stocks surged on Thursday following earnings from several companies that topped estimates, as well as a third consecutive monthly rise in existing home sales. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 188.03 points, or 2.1%, to 9,069.29 yesterday, the first close above 9,000 since Jan. 6 and its highest point since November intraday. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 2.5% to 1,973.60 for a 12th straight increase, its longest streak since 1992 and highest level since October. The S&P 500 advanced 22.22 points yesterday, bringing its four-month gain to 299.76, the third steepest increase from a bear market since 1933. That's also more than one-third of the decline from its October 2007 record to the March 9 low.
Meanwhile, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported somewhat disappointing results late Thursday, which could perhaps still affect stocks today, especially in light of the strong recent gains and investors wanting to take some profit ahead of the weekend.
Of note today, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner are scheduled to testify at 10:30 a.m. Eastern before the House Financial Services Committee on financial regulatory reform proposals from the Obama administration.
On the economic front, only one indcator is due out this morning at 9:55 a.m., July's University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index.
Outside the U.S., however, several economies made headlines. Europe's economy moved closer to recovery as the manufacturing and service industries contracted at the slowest rate since August and German business confidence climbed to a nine-month high. However, the U.K. economy shrank more than twice as much as economists forecast in the second quarter. And just north of the border, Canada's central bank predicted Thursday that the economy would expand this quarter, suggesting the recession is over in the Great White North. World stock markets rose again Friday.
Will Rich Ross really have a positive impact on Disney's movie operations?
Consumers sick of recession, may spend extra on holidays
Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
