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The Before the Bell report is constantly updated to reflect the latest news developments and market moves in the premarket. Check back later for updates.

North American stock futures are nearly unchanged this morning as markets take in a lot of news, including a bevy of economic reports, more key corporate earnings results in both Canada and the U.S., and some fresh comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen.

We detail results that are in so far this morning, and the key reports yet to come, below in our Stocks to Watch and Economic Indicators section.

U.S. and Canadian stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow even managing the hit a record high close for the first time this year. Traders found encouragement in a fairly upbeat economic assessment from the Fed as it announced a further cutback of $10-billion in monthly bond purchases. The Fed outlook came after a surprisingly weak reading on first-quarter gross domestic product in the U.S., but the central bank and most economists are looking for a bounceback in the second quarter after a brutal winter dampened consumer activity.

It was a quiet day in Asian markets, with stock exchanges in China, South Korea and Hong Kong closed for a public holiday. However, China still released its official purchasing manufacturing index. It largely came in as economists' expected, rising to 50.4 in April from March's 50.3 and HSBC's preliminary April reading of 48.3. Economists had forecast 50.5.

Many markets in Europe are also closed today for a holiday.

Among the Canadian earnings reports out today are Bombardier and Manulife Financial. In the U.S., the first-quarter earnings season is winding down and results have been overall quite favourable. With results in for just over 71 per cent of the market capitalization of the S&P 500, earnings per share is up 5 per cent from a year earlier, according to RBC calculations. Excluding financials, earnings have beaten estimates by an average of 6 per cent, driven mostly by margin improvement, as companies continue to benefit more from cost cutting than revenue gains.

Now, here's a closer look at what's going on this morning and what's to come.

MARKETS:

Equities:

Futures: S&P 500 +0.09 per cent; Dow +0.06 per cent; Nasdaq +0.25 per cent; S&P Toronto +0.17 per cent

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Closed for holiday

Shanghai composite index Closed for holiday

Japan's Nikkei +1.26 per cent

London's FTSE 100 +0.25 per cent

Germany's DAX Closed

France's CAC 40 Closed

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Jun) -0.48 per cent at $99.26 (U.S.) a barrel

Gold (Comex Jun) -0.79 per cent at $1,285.50 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Jly) -0.07 per cent at $3.03 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 91.07 (U.S.), down 0.0018

U.S. dollar index down 0.008 at 79.46

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.66 per cent, up 0.009

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

U.S. initial jobless claims last week rose to 344,000 from 329,000 the prior week, which was more than economists' expectations of 320,000.

U.S. personal income for March rose 0.5 per cent, matching Street expectations.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is speaking this morning in Washington, DC, to the Independent Community Bankers of America.

(945 a.m. ET) Markit U.S. Manufacturing purchasing managers index for April.

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. manufacturing PMI data for April.

(10 am. ET) US. construction spending for March. Consensus is for a 0.6 per cent rise from February.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

Automakers release vehicle sales for April. Overall they are expected to hold steady at a 16.2 million annual rate, just below the post-recession high.

Ford announced it will appoint chief operating officer Mark Fields as its new CEO, replacing Alan Mulally. Shares are down 0.5 per cent in the premarket.

Manulife Financial reported core EPS of 37 cents (Canadian), missing the Street estimate by a penny.

Bombardier reported adjusted EPS of 8 cents (Canadian), matching the Street view.

Maple Leaf Foods reports a Q1 loss of 24 cents vs. the Street expectation of a 17 cents loss.

Goldcorp reported adjusted EPS of 26 cents (U.S.), easily beating Street expectations of 14 cents.

Catamaran reported adjusted EPS of 50 cents (U.S.) vs. the Street estimate of 44 cents. It also raised its 2014 earnings outlook.

Exxon Mobil reported Q1 EPS of $2.10 (U.S.) versus the Street expectation of $1.88.

ConocoPhillips reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $1.81 (U.S.), well ahead of the Street estimate of $1.55.

CME Group reported Q1 adjusted EPS of 83 cents, matching the Street view.

Kellogg comparable EPS was $1.01 (U.S.) vs. the Street expectation of 97 cents.

Mastercard reported EPS of 73 cents (U.S.), beating profit expectations by a penny.

Other earnings today include: Agnico-Eagle; AltaGas; Baytex Energy; Bombardier; Brookfield Residential Properties; CCL Industries; Colabor Group; Constellation Software; Eldorado Gold; Enbridge Energy Partners; Fairfax Financial; First Quantum; Goldcorp; GMP Capital; Goldcorp; Imperial Oil; MacDonald Dettwiler; North American Palladium; Penn West; Pizza Pizza Royalty; Resolute Forest; Sierra Wireless; Stella-Jones; Strongco; Western Energy Services; Avon Products; Clorox; Cigna; Domino's Pizza; Expedia; Exxon Mobil; Fluor; Gartner; Jarden; KBR; Kellogg; Kraft Foods; LinkedIn; Manchester United; Marathon Petroleum; Motorola Solutions; Viacom.

DirecTV shares are up 7 per cent in the premarket after the Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T has approached the satellite TV firm over a possible acquisition.

ANALYST ACTIONS:

Canaccord Genuity started coverage on Canadian banks. Royal Bank is its favourite pick, with an $80 (Canadian) price target. It also has "buy" ratings on Bank of Nova Scotia and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Canaccord Genuity added TransGlobe Energy to its Canadian Focus List - its top investing ideas - with a price target of $13.50 (Canadian).

Desjardins Securities upgraded Canfor to "hold" from "sell: and kept a $25 (Canadian) price target, after recent share price decline.

Desjardins Securities hiked its price target on Jean Coutu Group to $22 (Canadian) from $19 and kept a "hold" rating. BMO Nesbitt Burns raised its target to $26 from $24.

Desjardins Securities hiked its price target on CGI Group to $47 (Canadian) from $43 and kept a "buy" rating.

RBC Dominion Securities upgraded Yelp to "outperform" from "sector perform" with a price target of $88 (U.S.). Piper Jaffray upgraded the company to "overweight" from "neutral" with a price target of $80.

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