Stock Futures Signal Higher Open

Dell is rising early. Crude oil is again lower.
By Sarina Penn ,

Wall Street was heading for a climb at the open Friday as investors were greeted with positive earnings news from the tech sector and another weak day for oil.

S&P 500

futures were adding 3 points to 1401 and were 2 points above fair value. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 jumped 8 points to 2031 and were more than 9 points ahead of fair value.

Last time out, the broad indices gained ground as oil retreated, and at the end of the day, the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 52 points to 12,646. The S&P 500 rose 7 points to 1398, and the

Nasdaq Composite

climbed 22 points at 2508.

Another drop in oil was buoying the mood. Futures were lately falling 81 cents to $125.81 a barrel.

On the corporate side,

Dell

(DELL) - Get Report

beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines in the most recent quarter, earning $784 million, or 38 cents a share, on sales of $16.07 billion. Shares of the computer maker were climbing in the premarket.

Elsewhere in tech,

Marvell Technology

(MRVL) - Get Report

shares were jumping after the chipmaker swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit and brought in enough revenue to exceed its own guidance as well as the average analyst estimate.

Also swinging to a profit was software concern

Novell

(NOVL)

, which furthermore outran revenue estimates and reaffirmed its full-year sales guidance of $940 million to $970 million.

Back in commodities, Gold futures were up $3.90 to $885.60 a barrel. The U.S. dollar was little changed recently, weakening fractionally against the euro and ticking up slightly against the yen.

Treasury prices were on the rise. The 10-year bond was up 9/32 in price to yield 4.04%, and the 30-year note climbed 10/32 in price, yielding 4.73%.

As for overseas markets, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo soared 1.5% overnight, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.6%. In Europe, London's FTSE 100, Germany's Xetra Dax and the Paris Cac were all rising 0.4% or more.

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