The Market On Thursday

At 6:10 a.m. futures are slightly up, oil is up per barrel and the dollar is down against the euro and pound.

The market will open higher if several corporate first quarter earnings reports, scheduled to come out before the opening bell, look good.

The Fed announced on Wednesday that it is keeping inter bank lending rates close to zero and the Fed also announced that the economy is improving.

Right now the market is still looking rosy.

CNN: Stocks headed for early gains

The blue-chip Dow rose back above 11,000 Wednesday after the Fed left interest rates unchanged and said that the economy is getting better.


U.S. light crude oil for June delivery rose 70 cents to settle at $83.92 a barrel.

Reuters: Wall Street futures signal gains, earnings in focus

Quarterly earning from oil majors Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips will be in focus, with analysts expecting the firms to post earnings per share of $1.41 and $1.38 respectively, up from $0.92 and $0.52 a year ago on a steady rise in oil prices over the period.