Futures turn higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Better-than-expected readings on inflation and upbeat results from corporate bellwether General Electric on Friday could give investors something to cheer about as trading gets under way on Wall Street.

Futures bounced up slightly following the a government report that showed inflation was still under control.

Prices paid for wholesale goods increased at a slower pace in March, according to the government's latest inflation measure that came in better than Wall Street expectations for the report's key reading.

The Producer Price Index rose 1 percent in the month, lifted by higher food and energy prices. That was down from the 1.3 percent increase in February. And it was a bit worse than the forecast of a rise of 0.7 percent from economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

But the more closely watched core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, showed no increase in prices. That's far better than the 0.4 percent rise in February and better than the economists' forecast of a 0.2 percent increase in those prices.

In the day's other economic reports, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in February to $58.4 billion, as crude oil imports fell sharply to the smallest in four years and average imported oil prices were the lowest since December 2005, a government report on Friday showed.

The Commerce Department also lowered its estimate of the January trade gap to $58.9 billion, from its previous estimate of $59.1 billion.

Also, just after the market opens, the University of Michigan releases its first reading on consumer confidence in April. Economists are looking for that index to fall to 87.5 from 88.4 in March.

In corporate news, GE (Charts) reported it earned 44 cents a share in the most recent period, up from 39 cents a share a year earlier, and in line with estimates of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call. Its revenue was better than forecast.

Elsewhere, drugmaker Merck (Charts), a Dow component, raised its first quarter and full-year earnings guidance after the bell Thursday. But an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that Merck's successor to the recalled pain reliever Vioxx should not be approved. Shares of Merck gained 3.3 percent in after-hours trading on the news.

Stocks in Asia closed mostly lower, while major markets in Europe were slightly higher in early trading.

Treasury prices were flat in early trading, with the yield on the 10-year note near the 4.73 percent level reached late Thursday. The dollar was higher against the euro and weaker against the yen.

Oil prices were slightly higher in early trading. U.S. light crude edged up 9 cents to $63.94 a barrel in electronic trading.

In other corporate news, Morgan Stanley (Charts) announced it would spend $2.4 billion to buy 13 Japanese hotels from All Nippon Airways (Charts).

Apple (Charts) announced after the close Thursday that its new Leopard operating system, originally set to be unveiled in June, would be delayed until October, as it devoted resources to the June rollout of its iPhone. Shares of Apple fell nearly 2 percent in after-hours trading.

No. 1 student loan lender Sallie Mae (Charts) is in talks to be bought out by private equity in a deal that could top $20 billion, according to a report Friday in the New York Times.