Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are signaling a higher start, as investors take bullish cues from across the pond. A better-than-expected boost in Germany's Ifo business-climate index has European markets up at midday, and Wall Street appears ready to follow suit. Among equities in focus, Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) unveiled a fiscal first-quarter earnings report that beat analysts' expectations, and the stock is pointed roughly 4% higher on the heels of last night's announcement.

Meanwhile, "The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is right back to 1,500, which is obviously a huge level," said Schaeffer's Senior Trading Analyst Bryan Sapp. "Furthermore, the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY) has massive put open interest at the 150 strike, which is likely to provide some type of support. I'm also watching the 900 level on the Russell 2000 Index (RUT)."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are trading more than 76 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

Equity option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1,014,832 call contracts traded on Thursday, compared to 726,109 put contracts. The resultant single-session put/call ratio remained at 0.72, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.64.

From the Trading Floor

"Sentiment polls are still showing decreasing bullishness," observed Sapp. "Yesterday, data from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) showed a bearish increase and a bullish decrease. Given the massive two-day CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) spike that we've seen, it's likely that these new bears will see a short-term squeeze."

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is unchanged ahead of the bell, with the currency last seen near $81.46.
• Crude oil is on the mend, with the front-month contract up 0.1% at $92.96 per barrel.
• Elsewhere, gold futures are hovering just above breakeven, with gold for April delivery trading at $1,578.80 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

There are no economic reports of note today, but earnings results are expected from Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Cyberonics (CYBX), and Washington Post (WPO).