BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Up; Eyes On Earnings, Stress Test

By Polya Lesova U.S. stock futures moved higher on Friday, buoyed by strong economic data from Germany and the U.K., and as Honeywell and Ford among many other major companies released results, while the main event of the day remained disclosure of European banks' "stress tests." Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 34 points to 10301. S&P 500 futures gained 4 points to 1091.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 8 points to 1859.75. No major U.S. economic data are scheduled for release on Friday. Shares of Ford Motor Co. (F) were up 4% in the pre-market. Second-quarter net income rose to $2.6 billion, or 61 cents a share on sales of $31.3 billion, ahead of analysts' vies of 40 cents and $29.5 billion respectively, as the company said it sees strong demand looking ahead for Ford products. Shares of Honeywell International Inc. (HON) jumped nearly 9% in pre-opening trade. The group said second-quarter earnings rose to $468 million, or 60 cents a share, on sales of $8.16 billion. On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting a profit of 57 cents a share on revenue of $7.99 billion. Shares of oil giant BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) fell 0.7%. Tropical Storm Bonnie, which is projected to track into the Gulf of Mexico, has forced the firm to temporarily suspend its relief-well activities in the region. Shares of L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (ERIC, ERIC-B.SK) fell over 5% ahead of the U.S. open after tumbling in Swedish markets. The group's second-quarter net profit fell short of market expectations and sales declined 8% because of supply issues and component shortages. Also on the earnings front, blue chip Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) said it had a second-quarter net loss of $198 million, or 7 cents a share, which included 65 cents a share in charges related to an employee severance plan. At $26.8 billion, revenue was just under Wall Street expectations. Among shares destined to move on Wall Street, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) was down over 11% in pre-open trading, after the group reported earnings surged late Thursday, but missed Wall Street forecasts. Traders received positive economic news from Europe for a second day. The German Ifo index posted an unexpectedly large jump in July, confirming the strong recovery in Europe's biggest economy. The business-climate index rose to 106.2 in July from a reading of 101.8 in June, the Munich-based Ifo Institute reported. Also boosting sentiment, Britain's gross domestic product grew by a much stronger-than-expected 1.1% in the second quarter, government data showed. Economists had forecast a quarterly rise of 0.6%. The British pound rose 1% to $1.5415 following the data and the euro gained 0.3% to $1.2938. The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up 0.3% in midday trading, as investors awaited the results from the European bank-stress tests, which will be released starting at noon Eastern time. "Overall, the transparency bar has been lowered and markets will now more likely gloss over vague details about how the stress tests were constructed," Deutsche Bank strategists wrote in a note to clients. "So our best guess is that these results kick the can further down the road without fully putting the matter to bed." Shares of Germany's Deutsche Bank AG (DB) edged up 0.2%, while France's BNP Paribas (BNPQY, BNP.FR) rose 0.3% and Credit Agricole (ACA.FR, CRARY) dropped 0.7%. Spanish banking giant Banco Santander (STD) gained 0.4%. Shares of Vodafone Group (VOD.LN, VOD, VODPF) gained 0.9% in London after the company reported a 5% improvement in quarterly sales and announced it will pay 1.25 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) to settle outstanding tax issues in the U.K. In the commodity markets, September crude-oil futures fell 23 cents to $79.07 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures rose $2.10 to trade at $1,198.30 an ounce. -By Polya Lesova; 49 69 29725517; AskNewswires@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 23, 2010 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)