Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.2% before the bell and futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%.
In midday trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.1%, the DAX in Frankfurt advanced 1.1% and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.8%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.2% to 20,555.46 and the Kospi in Seoul was 0.2% higher at 2,432.07. The dollar declined to 136.25 yen from Thursday's 136.76 yen. The euro gained to $1.0607 from $1.0590.
Investors also are cutting expectations of U.S. corporate profits due to warnings that inflation and interest rates might cool consumer demand. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.6% to 27,934.01 after Japan's unemployment rate edged lower in January.
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