By James Langton

(April 18 – 09:00 ET) – Stocks are pointing to a strong positive open this morning. Better than expected earnings from Intel after the bell last night sparked an overseas rally and has engendered optimism for stocks generally, and techs specifically.

One stock that’s not enjoying the good feeling is Hewlett-Packard Co., which announced 3,000 job cuts and an earnings warning. Profits have also slumped at U.S. blue chips, with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. reporting profits down 28% and Merrill Lynch & Co. dropping 16%. GM saw its earnings drop 87% for the first quarter, although Coca-Cola Co. reported a small profit.

Nevertheless, stocks are rallying in Europe. Firms that have taken a beating, such as ARM Holdings plc, Nokia Oyj, and ASM Lithography Holding NV are up on the Intel news. In London, the FTSE is up 59 points to 5,820. In Paris, the CAC 40 has added 111 points to 5,452. Germany’s DAX is up 141 points to 6,077.

Overnight in Asia, stocks responded even more dramatically to Intel. Blue chips rallied strongly, pushing the Japanese Nikkei up 575 points to 13,642. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 366 points to 12,973.

In economic news, Statistics Canada reports that exports declined 4.5% in February, while imports fell 2.8%. Exports slipped to $35.1 billion worth of goods, while imports sit at $29.3 billion. Exports fell in most major commodity groups, notably energy products and machinery and equipment. The merchandise trade surplus slipped to almost $5.9 billion in February, down from nearly $6.7 billion in January.