Naomi watts
AP Images
Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
  • Asian markets were higher in overnight trading with the Hang Seng up 2.14 percent. Europe is rallying after China suggested it would invest in Europe's bailout funds, and U.S. futures are moderately higher ahead of the market open.
  • Eurozone GDP contracted 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter, against expectations of a 0.4 percent contraction. This is the first contraction since 2009. German GDP fell 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter, on a quarter-over-quarter basis, while the French economy grew 0.2 percent for the same period. 
  • China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China plans to invest in Europe's bailout funds. His comments also suggested that China won't be selling its holdings of euro assets and that it will buy European bonds to boost market confidence. 
  • UK unemployment rose by 48,000 to 2.67 million in the fourth quarter. The unemployment rate came in at 8.4 percent its highest level in 17 years. The data is expected to increase opposition claims that prime minister David Cameron has taken on too much austerity to cut the deficit. 
  • The Empire State manufacturing index for February will be released at 8:30 AM ET. Industrial production for January will be released at 9:15 AM ET. Consensus is for a rise in the general business conditions index level to 14.75 and a 0.7 percent month-over-month increase in production. 
  • In tech news, talks between Yahoo Inc and China's Alibaba Group $17 billion asset swap have hit an impasse. This comes after ThirdPoint's Daniel Loeb tried to install directors he had picked, on Yahoo's board. Meanwhile, Apple has overtaken Samsung to becomes the world's biggest smartphone vendor. Apple's marketshare jumped to 23.8 percent in the fourth quarter, from 15.8 percent a year ago.
  • In earnings news, Devon Energy is expected to report earnings of $1.48 per share. Deere & Co. reported Q1 net income of $1.30 per share, on revenue of $6.77 billion. Meanwhile, Comcast reported earnings of $0.47 per share, on revenue of $15.04 billion. It also said it would increase its dividend by 44 percent and announced a $6.5 billion share repurchase program.
  • French bank BNP Paribas reported a 50.6 percent drop in quarterly net profit. France's largest bank by assets was hit by €567 million in new Greek write-downs. The bank reported fourth quarter net profit of €765 million, on revenue of €9.69 billion.
  • FOMC minutes are due at 2 PM ET, now that it has changed the transparency of its operations. The statement could boost the dollar if the minutes show the Fed reining in talks of more quantitative easing. 
  • The housing market index for February will be released at 10 AM ET. Consensus is for a rise in the housing market index to 26.