Wall Street stock futures edged lower Friday as investors digested quarterly earnings from Bank of America, Citigroup, IBM and General Electric.

Bank of America Corp.’s second-quarter income fell 5.5% on higher merger charges and continued credit woes. The bank posted income of US$3.22 billion, or 33¢ a share, down from US$3.41 billion, or 72¢ a share, a year earlier.

Citigroup Inc. reported second-quarter revenue of US$29.97 billion and a profit of 49¢ a share on a gain from the sale of Smith Barney. That compared with a year-earlier loss of US$2.5 billion, or 55¢ a share.

General Electric Co. reported a 47% drop in quarterly profit, still beating forecasts, but missing estimates on revenue.

International Business Machines Corp. reported a second-quarter profit that rose 12% from a year ago, as higher gross margins for the technology giant’s software and services offerings helped offset sales declines across the company’s business.

In U.S. economic news, housing starts increased 3.6% to a seasonally adjusted 582,000 annual rate compared to the prior month, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said Canada’s annual inflation rate dipped below zero in June, as gasoline prices fell compared to last year.

The Canadian dollar edged lower after the inflation report was released. The loonie was at US89.45¢ down from US89.51¢ at Thursday’s close.

In commodities news, crude futures fell 47¢ to US$61.55.

On Thursday, the Toronto Stock Exchange finished with a fourth consecutive day of strong gains, pulled higher by materials stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 88.96 points, or 0.9%, to close at 10,304.42.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index advanced by 15.25 points, or 1.4%, to close at 1,097.80.

In New York, U.S. stock market indexes also finished higher after a second U.S. banking giant, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., reported strong second-quarter profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 95.61 points, or 1.1%, to 8,711.82.

The S&P 500 index added 8.06 points, or 0.9%, to close at 940.74.

The Nasdaq composite index surged 22.13 points, or 1.2%, to finish at 1,885.03.

IE