U.S. stock futures are higher this morning, following President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. Investors are awaiting earnings reports and a monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 35 points to 11,957.00 and S&P 500 futures rose 5.60 points to 1,293.30. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 9 points at 2,310.25.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.33 points or less than 0.1% yesterday.

Data on December new-home sales will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The latest statement from the Fed is due at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Boeing (BA) is taking advantage of the improved sentiment this afternoon. At the time of this writing, shares of the aerospace concern were higher by 3% to $71.16. Volume, however, wasn't yet above average (it will be, though, before the regular session is through).

The 52-week low for the stock is $47.18, and the 52-week high is $76. The company is therefore in favor these days. The chart, while not reflective of a smooth uptrend, nevertheless shows an equity that has been doing okay given the volatility we've seen in recent months.

All of the sales and order announcements of the past six months have shown up in Boeing Co.'s (NYSE:BA) second quarter earnings announcement. The company reported strong quarterly EPS of $1.35, well above Thompson-compiled analyst expectations of $1.16 and 2006's year/year adjusted EPS of $.56. Operating earnings broke $1.5 billion.

The strong performance came primarily as a result of more plane deliveries and strong orders for the 787 Dreamliner. Orders in turn can be credited to airlines upgrading aging fleets and increased fuel costs, which make the efficient Dreamliner more desirable. The company finished the quarter with $279 billion in orders to be filled.

In most industries, a $262 billion order backlog is a reason for panic. In the airplane industry, it's reason to rejoice, and this result has Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) celebrating a great first quarter 2007 earnings report. The company posted $1.13 earnings per share, as earnings increased 27% to $877 million. The earning were considerably above the $1.01 forecast reported by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the period was up 8%, to $15.4 billion. Planes deliveries in the quarter were also up 8%, to 106. Thanks in part to rising oil prices, Boeing's confirmed orders for its new fuel-efficient Dreamliner 787 have reached a whopping 544 from 44 customers. The first production 787 is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in July, and go into service in May of 2008.

Revenues from Boeing Integrated Defense Systems also finished up by 7%, with operating earnings of $784 million and an operating margin of 10.2%.

The company expects to deliver 440+ commercial planes this year. However, Boeing's guidance for 2007 revenues remained unchanged at $64.5-65 billion, and $71-72 billion for 2008. Still, analysts had expected a bump up of 2007 and 2008 estimates, and the market expressed its disappointment with a slight decline in the stock price. Nonetheless, Boeing has enjoyed strong growth for the last six months, up 20% for the period.