Stock Futures Climb as BofA Adds to Earnings Optimism

FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here

U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street as bank earnings continued to impress and traders awaited data on the economy.

Today's Markets

As of 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 39 points, or 0.24%, to 16338, S&P 500 futures advanced 3.3 points, or 0.18%, to 1836 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 12.7 points, or 0.36%, to 3587.

It's been a strong earnings season for banks for far. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) shares rallied ahead of the opening bell after the No. 2 U.S. bank posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Fellow banking giants J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) also revealed fourth-quarter beats this week.

On the economic front, traders will get a look at inflation at the wholesale level at 8:30 a.m. ET. Producer prices are forecast to have climbed 0.4% in December from the month prior. Meanwhile, a reading on the Empire State manufacturing sector from the New York Federal Reserve is forecast to show output expanding and a swifter pace in January from December.

Elsewhere in corporate news, Apple (NADSAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook reportedly said iPhone sales in China hit a record high in the tech giant's fiscal first quarter.

In commodities, U.S. crude oil futures climbed 34 cents, or 0.38%, to $92.94 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline dipped 0.49% to $2.61 a gallon. Gold fell $9.80, or 0.8%, to $1,236 a troy ounce.