Stocks set for higher open
Stocks signal early gains for Wall Street, as investors brush off larger than expected trade gap, focusing on lower-than-expected import prices.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks looked set for a rebound on Friday, as investors eyed opportunities after the previous session's sharp drop.
At 8:45 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were somewhat higher.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
U.S. stocks slumped Thursday, as jitters about the economic recovery led investors to question the sustainability of the recent rally.
"The market will digest profit numbers today and set up for next week's heavy calendar," Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global, wrote in a research report.
Economy: A government report on the trade balance showed the nation's gap between imported and exported goods and services grew to $36.5 billion in October, up from $30.8 billion in September. That was much larger than economists' expectation of $31.1 billion, according to Briefing.com
But import prices grew only 0.7%, lower than the 1% that economists predicted. Most of that increase was on rising oil prices.
"The trade deficit was a real negative surprise, but the market isn't reacting to it much," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with Avalon Partners. "Import prices were a bit better than expected, but most of the rise still attributed to energy. They were still lower than last year, which is a good indication that inflation is still well anchored."
Investors will also be closely watching the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index, which will be released at 9:55 a.m. ET.
Companies: Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) reported quarterly results late Thursday that showed signs of a turnaround at the company. It also swapped the roles of two top executives.
Also after the closing bell Thursday, upscale retailer Nordstrom (JWN, Fortune 500) posted a quarterly profit that was below analysts' forecasts and said it expects a drop in full-year same-store sales.
World markets: Most Asian markets finished the session in negative territory, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng posted gains. In Europe, major indexes were mixed in morning trading.
Currencies, commodities: The dollar fell broadly, losing ground against the euro, pound and yen.
Oil prices rose 61 cents to $77.55 a barrel, while gold prices were up $2.10 to $1,108.70 an ounce. 
