U.S. stock futures pointed higher Friday as commodities prices continued to ease.

Oil futures fell 65¢ to $115.41 a barrel and gold futures slipped US$3.70 to US$883.10 an ounce.

After markets closed Thursday, Microsoft Corp. reported an 11% profit decline on virtually flat revenue and said current quarter earnings would come in below analyst estimates.

In today’s earnings news, Telecom-equipment maker Ericsson reported a smaller-than-forecast 55% profit fall with a better performance in North American than anticipated.

Samsung Electronics Co., reported a better-than-forecast 37% profit rise, helped by its LCD and cell-phone units.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US98.20¢, down 0.40 cent from Thursday, as the U.S. dollar continued its revival against other major currencies.

Later this morning, the University of Michigan’s consumer confidence poll for April is due out.

In other market news, eight Canadian-listed mining companies conferred with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and been assured that “responsible” mining will go ahead in the South American country.

The companies were told the purpose of a mining mandate passed last Friday, suspending industry activity for six months, is to enable the government to get organized and pass new mining laws, according to a statement from Corriente Resources Inc. of Vancouver.

Overseas, strength from financials drove Japan stocks higher. The Nikkei 225 Index rose 2.4%, while Shanghai and Hong Kong retreated.

In Europe, the technology sector, boosted by Ericsson’s rise, led indexes higher. The German DAX advanced 1%, the French CAC-40 rose 0.9% and the United Kingdom’s FTSE Index gained 0.4%.

Toronto stocks pared early losses but still ended lower on Thursday, as falling commodity prices dragged down resource issues.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 103.47 points, or 0.74%, to. 13,966.33, with four of its 10 main sectors pointing lower.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 37.82 points, or 1.5%, to 2,479.10.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 85.73 points, or 0.67%, to end at 12,848.95. The S&P 500 rose 8.89 points, or 0.64%, to 1,388.82. The Nasdaq composite index gained 23.71 points, or 0.99%, to 2,428.92.