US stock futures surge on Intel, JPMorgan reports

NEW YORK – U.S. stock futures are surging Wednesday after surprisingly strong earnings reports from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Overseas markets also rose sharply, buoyed by news that the decline in China's exports slowed in September.

JPMorgan Chase, the first major bank to report third-quarter earnings, handily beat Wall Street's expectations, reporting a profit of $3.59 billion for the July-September period. However, the bank said loan losses are still high and are likely to remain elevated for some time.

Intel also beat analysts' estimates, reporting a smaller-than-expected decline in profit and sales after the market closed Tuesday. The chip maker said it expects sales in the final period of the year to top analyst projections.

The rise in global markets Wednesday came as the dollar slumped to a fresh 14-month low against other major currencies. The decline sent gold to a new record high of $1,072 an ounce, and oil prices above $75 a barrel for the first time in a year.

Treasury prices fell as investors abandoned safe-haven assets for stocks and commodities.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 117, or 1.2 percent, to 9,926. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 14.80, or 1.4 percent, to 1,083.60, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 23.00, or 1.3 percent, to 1,749.75.

The big gains in stock futures followed the market's modest losses on Tuesday, which were sparked by a disappointing decline in sales at Johnson & Johnson that fanned fears that consumers and businesses are still curbing their spending. Adding to the day's woes was a downbeat report from an influential banking analyst suggesting bank stocks are overvalued. The reports from Intel and JPMorgan eased some of those concerns.

JPMorgan shares soared $1.78, or 3.9 percent, to $47.44 in premarket trading. Shares have not touched that level in a year. Intel shares gained $1.01, or 4.9 percent, to $21.50.

In Asia, China's Shanghai index rose 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2 percent. Japan's Nikkei index slipped 0.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.9 percent, Germany's DAX index jumped 2.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rallied 2.0 percent.

The ICE Futures U.S. dollar index, which tracks the dollar against other major currencies, fell 0.7 percent, after earlier hitting its lowest point since August 2008.

Oil prices rose as high as $75.15 and recently traded up 75 cents at $74.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bond prices tumbled as stocks soared. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.40 percent from 3.35 percent late Tuesday.