'Teflon market' poised to keep climbing

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stock futures continued their upward climb Friday, shrugging off geopolitical concerns and holding gains after an upwardly revised reading on fourth-quarter GDP.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all up about 0.3% ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Though unrest in the Middle East and Libya is spreading and Japan continues to deal with the effects of an earthquake, the market generally has trended higher this week.

"This is a Teflon market," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "It wants to go up, and it doesn't seem to be stymied by much lately."

Futures didn't react much to the third and final reading of fourth-quarter U.S. GDP, which came in at 3.1%. The prior estimate had been for a growth rate of 2.8% in the quarter.

Also on tap for Friday after the start of trade is the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey for March, which Luschini said "could serve as a litmus test" for the domestic situation. Economists expect a reading of 68.0 -- down slightly from 68.2 in February.

Mostly positive earnings news from the technology sector boosted U.S. stocks on Thursday, with all major indexes posting solid gains.

Companies: Tech stocks were big movers Friday morning, as well. Shares of Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) were up 4.5% in premarket, after the software company reported results late Thursday that were mostly in line with expectations. Oracle earnings grew by 78%, and sales rose 37% in the previous quarter. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to 6 cents a share.

Research in Motion (RIMM) shares plunged 10.7% in premarket trade, after the BlackBerry maker gave weak first-quarter guidance late Thursday. RIMM's earnings were $1.78 per share, versus the $1.75 a share analysts had expected. Revenue rose 36% compared to last year, but still fell short of expectations.

Homebuilder KBHome (KBH) is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings results before the start of trade.

World markets: European stocks were mixed in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 ticked up by 0.1%, while the DAX in Germany and France's CAC 40 fell by 0.1%.

Asian markets ended the session higher. The Shanghai Composite, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and Japan's Nikkei all gained about 1.1%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for May delivery gained 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $105.77 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery added 80 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,435.70 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.40% from 3.39% late Thursday.