Thursday’s positive momentum continued into early Friday trading, and the market stayed higher after inflation data came in close to expectations at 8:30 a.m. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in January, a hair below expectations, and the core rate was up 0.2%, in line with expectations. European stocks showed solid gains; the German DAX rose 1.3%. Stocks in Asia were also higher overnight.
Dow futures rose 38 points to 12,908; S&P 500 futures rose 2.7 points to 1,357.5.
Gilead (GILD) plunged 18% after it reported that some patients using its Hepatitis C drug had reported relapses. HJ Heinz (HNZ) rose 2.5% after reporting better than expected earnings. Nordstrom (JWN) fell 1.3% after projecting that its same store sales growth would decelerate.
