U.S. Stock Futures Mostly Up as Investors Await Earnings; Apple Shares Drop

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The NAHB Housing Market Index for January is due after the opening bell.

Shares of Apple dipped about 5% in pre-market trading as the company's Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs reported that he will take another medical leave to focus on his health.

Wall Street expects Citigroup (C) to report its Q4 earnings at 8 cents per share on revenue of $20.45 billion. Analysts expect International Business Machines (IBM) to report its Q4 earnings at $4.08 per share on revenue of $28.26 billion.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD) is likely to post its FQ1 EPS at 25 cents on revenue of $647.81 million. Analysts are expecting Delta Air Lines (DAL) to have earned 26 cents per share on revenue of $7.73 billion in its fourth quarter.

Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 0.97%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.12%.

Asian markets ended mostly in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.15%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.80% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.09%.

The U.S. dollar dropped versus most of its major rivals, with the dollar index losing 0.63%. The euro advanced 1% to $1.3393. The British pound surged 0.8% to $1.6034, after data depicted a 3.7% year-over-year rise in the U.K.'s annual inflation in December.

Crude oil for February delivery advanced 16 cents to $91.70. The International Energy Agency lifted its global oil demand projections this year. However, gold futures gained $7 to $1,367.50 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex.

Jason Raznick is an editor at Benzinga.com. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/benzinga.