Futures higher ahead of Trump's address, GDP data

[January 26, 2018]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pointed to gains for Wall Street at open on Friday as a strong set of earnings this week buoyed sentiment, ahead of President Donald Trump's closing address at Davos.

Trump is expected to tell the World Economic Forum in Davos that his administration will not tolerate intellectual property theft and trade abuses, a senior U.S. administration official said.

The markets have been moving on comments by top U.S. officials at Davos.

Stocks rose following Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's endorsement of a weak dollar but gave up some gains after Trump said he ultimately wants the dollar to be strong.

Investors will get a peek into how the U.S. economy performed in the fourth-quarter when the Commerce Department issues advanced gross domestic product estimate at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT).

GDP likely increased at a 3.0 percent annualized rate in the quarter, after surging at a 3.2-percent rate in the previous quarter, according to a Reuters poll.

At 7:01 a.m. ET (1201 GMT), Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 73 points, or 0.28 percent, with 21,337 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 10.5 points, or 0.37 percent, with 109,347 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 35.25 points, or 0.51 percent, on volume of 26,425 contracts.

The trading floor is seen on the final day of trading for the year at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 29, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Intel Corp <INTC.O> rose about 6 percent in premarket trading after the chipmaker gave a bullish forecast and blew past fourth-quarter expectations.

Of the 118 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly earnings through Thursday, 78.8 percent have topped expectations, versus an average of 72 percent over the previous four quarters.

Starbucks <SBUX.O> fell 4.5 percent after it warned 2018 global cafe sales growth would be at the low end of its forecast.

Honeywell International's <HON.N> adjusted earnings narrowly beat estimates and the company raised its forecast for 2018 profit. Its shares were down marginally.

Bed Bath & Beyond <BBBY.O> dipped 5 percent after JPMorgan downgraded to "underweight".

Data on non-defense capital goods orders, excluding aircraft, – a closely watched proxy for business spending - is also expected during the day.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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