Friday the 13th Not Spooky for Stocks

Friday the 13th on Wall Street isn’t always spooky. In fact, the broader market rallies on Friday the 13th 60% of the time.

With that history as background, futures are pointing upward this morning; and if the early gains hold, stocks will end their six-day losing streak that has knocked 370 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

A slowdown in China isn’t chilling sentiment, and most global stock indices are up. China says its economic growth slowed to 7.6% in the second quarter from 8.1% in the first quarter. While the figure did meet analyst expectations, it also signaled the slowest pace of growth in more than three years for the once red-hot Chinese economy.

J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) is the first big bank to report second-quarter earnings. The bank said it will restate its first-quarter results, and that restatement will have no effect on total earnings or revenues year-to-date.

"The restatement announced today will reduce the firm's previously-reported net income for the 2012 first quarter by $459 million. The restatement relates to valuations of certain positions in the synthetic credit portfolio in the firm's Chief Investment Office (CIO)," the firm said in a statement.

On a lighter note, if you're looking for a snack and on a budget, lots of restaurant chains are offering freebies today. Between noon at 3 p.m., get a free tall Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) "Refresher."  Walk into a Chick-Fil-A dressed like a cow (not kidding), and get a free meal (it's unofficially Cow Appreciation Day). And if you have a sweet tooth, head into a Krispy Kreme today for a special 75th birthday doughnut.  If you buy a dozen, you get a dozen of Original Glazed doughnuts for 75 cents.