Bulls aim to restart rally

Stocks set for positive open as upbeat corporate earnings bolster investor confidence; inflation worries take backseat.

September 21 2007: 5:03 AM EDT

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures were stronger Friday as positive earnings news helped investors push inflation worries aside.

At 4:50 a.m. ET, stocks were poised to regain momentum after easing the previous session.

Positive earnings news helped revive the bullish sentiment that was triggered on Tuesday when the Federal Reserve slashed the target for a key short-term interest rate by half of a percentage point.

Software firm Oracle (Charts, Fortune 500) reported after the closing bell on Thursday quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street's estimates, which could give tech stocks a boost.

Athletic shoe and apparel maker Nike (Charts, Fortune 500) also posted strong results, reporting a 51 percent jump in net income.

Investors are also still basking from the upbeat earnings Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs (Charts, Fortune 500) reported Thursday. The investment bank defied the credit storm to post a surge in third-quarter profit and revenue.

The upbeat mood, however, could be challenged by inflation fears. The price of oil prices has eased from a record high but is still hovering around $82 a barrel, while the euro surged to another record against the dollar early on Friday.

In global trade, major markets in Asia fell, while European stocks drifted higher in early trading. Top of page

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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.
© 2012 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Ad choices .