Wall Street heads to higher open amid slew of earnings

Wall Street headed to a mixed opening Thursday on a slew of earnings reports and economic news.

Futures initial were up, but dropped after an earnings report from Exxon Mobil Corp. indicated it earned nearly $11 billion in the quarter but didn't surpass it's previous record profit.

The world's biggest publicly traded oil company led a mixed bag of earnings results before the opening bell. Exxon said profit rose 17 percent during the first quarter, but that was below Wall Street expectations.

While investors are keeping a close eye on the health of corporate earnings, the bigger focus in recent weeks has been about the health of the economy. Stocks on Wednesday ended mixed after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point, but failed to give a firm indication of future moves.

Policymakers likely need more economic data before being confident enough to put rates on hold. The Fed might get some answers from fresh data due during the session, including the Institute for Supply Management's report on April manufacturing activity that will be issued at 10 a.m. EDT.

The Bank of England issued a report Thursday that said credit markets will gradually recover in coming months amid an eventual realization that risks from the subprime crisis have been exaggerated. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in an interview Wednesday with business news program Nightly Business Report that the U.S. is "closer to the end of this period of turmoil."

Investors are now waiting for the ISM's report on April manufacturing activity, which is expected to show declines for the third consecutive month. Also on tap were reports on March personal income and spending data, weekly jobless claims and March construction spending.

In corporate news, Starbucks Corp. reported fiscal second-quarter profit sank 28 percent as U.S. consumers responded to rising food and gas prices. The coffee purveyor slashed 30 additional store openings from its already-scaled-back plan for 2008 and said it will open fewer than 400 stores per year in 2009 through 2011.

Comcast Corp. reported a 12.5 percent decline in first-quarter profits from a year ago, when the company's earnings were inflated by a $300 million one-time gain.

Meanwhile, Cigna Corp. reported first-quarter profit dropped 80 percent due to hefty reinsurance losses and litigation charges. The health insurer also said full-year earnings may miss expectations amid challenges in its health care segment.

Bond prices fell in premarket trading. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.76 percent from 3.73 percent late Wednesday.

Light, sweet crude fell 36 cents to $113.10 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.60 percent. European markets were closed.

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