U.S. Stocks May Move Back To The Upside On Upbeat Amazon, Apple Earnings

(RTTNews) - After coming under pressure over the course of the previous session, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.7 percent.

Early buying interest may be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL).

Shares of Amazon are soaring by 13.0 percent in pre-market trading after the online retail giant reported better than expected third quarter results amid a sharp increase in cloud computing revenue.

iPhone maker Apple is also seeing notable pre-market strength after reporting fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and providing upbeat guidance for the current quarter.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX) may also move to the upside after the streaming giant announced its board of directors has approved a ten-for-one stock split.

On the other hand, shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) may see initial weakness after the energy giant reported third quarter earnings that decreased year-over-year due to lower oil prices.

Just after the start of trading, MNI Indicators is due to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of October.

The Chicago business barometer is expected to rise to 42.3 in October from 40.6 in September, but a reading below 50 would still indicate contraction.

Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, with the Dow joining the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in negative territory after seeing some strength early in the session.

After ending Wednesday's trading at a record closing high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly steep drop, plunging 377.33 points or 1.6 percent to 23,581.14.

The S&P 500 also slumped 68.25 points or 1.0 percent to 6,822.34, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest loss, slipping 109.88 points or 0.2 percent to 47,522.12.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved modestly lower on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.14 to $60.43 a barrel after inching up $0.09 to $60.57 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $15.20 to $4,015.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $17.30 to $4,033.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.95 yen versus the 154.12 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1558 compared to yesterday's $1.1565.