NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks looked to continue their rally Thursday following the gains in overseas markets after the Federal Reserve left rates here unchanged.

Stock futures, which predict where markets are likely to be near the open, were up in early trading, pointing to a continuation of the rally that followed the Fed decision Wednesday to leave rates unchanged, a move that was widely expected.

The Fed's statement was somewhat mixed in its outlook, as it pointed out that a cooling housing market economic growth to slow, but also adding language that "going forward, the economy seems likely to expand at a moderate pace."

Earnings growth has generally been strong in reports this month. Thursday No. 1 oil company Exxon Mobil (Charts) will be the only Dow component due to report results. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call forecast a 20 percent rise in earnings there. But Royal Dutch Shell (Charts) reported lower earnings despite higher revenue, although the company upped its dividend.

Oil prices were slightly lower in early trading.

The one segment of the economy clearly struggling is housing and Pulte Home (Charts), the nation's No. 2 home builder in terms of revenue, reported a sharp drop in earnings and said fourth quarter earnings would fall far short of current forecasts. At 10 a.m. investors will see the latest reading on new home sales for September. A report on existing home sales Wednesday showed the biggest year-over-year drop in home prices.

In other earnings, media and electronics conglomerate Sony (Charts) reported earnings fell 94 percent due to costs associated with its battery recall and losses in its video game unit in preparation of the introduction of its PlayStation 3 later this year.