Stock Futures Climb After JPMorgan Beats Views

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U.S. stock-index futures ticked up Friday after JPMorgan Chase kicked off bank earnings season with a beat on the bottom line.

Today's Markets

As of 7:55 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 22 points to 15054, S&P 500 futures gained 1.5 points to 1687 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 3.8 points to 3197.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) revealed quarterly profits that widely exceeded Wall Street's estimates after a massive $7.2 billion after-tax legal expense is removed. Shares of the biggest U.S. bank by assets jumped in early trading. However, CEO Jamie Dimon warned of the "highly charged and unpredictable (legal) environment, with escalating demands and penalties from multiple government Agencies."

Results from fellow banking giant Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) are due out at 8:00 a.m. ET. Earnings season will pick up steam over coming weeks, providing Wall Street traders who are dealing with a dearth of economic data with a reading on how corporate America is performing.

On the fiscal front, House Republicans proposed a short-term debt ceiling increase on Thursday that would have been accompanied by an end to the Treasury Department's ability to utilize so-called "extraordinary measures." Leadership met with President Barack Obama and other senior administration officials late in the day, but an agreement wasn't immediately struck. Still, analysts grew slightly more hopeful that Congress will be able to lift the debt ceiling before the October 17 deadline.

"The bottom line for investors, obviously, is that the House GOP blinked on the debt ceiling; default never was likely -- and now chances are close to zero," analysts at Washington, D.C.-based Potomac Research Group wrote to clients. "But excuse us for pointing out that the eventual 'deal' will simply kick the can, with another deadline later this fall, or in the winter, or whenever."

In commodities, U.S. crude oil futures slid $1.36, or 1.3%, to $101.65 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.38% to $2.688 a gallon. Gold dropped $10.20, or 0.79%, to $1,287 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets 

The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.07% to 2971, the English FTSE 100 climbed 0.8% to 6482 and the German DAX advanced 0.37% to 8718.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 soared 1.5% to 14405 and the Chinese Hang Seng rallied 1.2% to 23218.