07:15 AM EDT, 10/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were pointing higher on Friday as traders await the week's final batch of earnings reports and assess strong latest quarterly results from key companies.

Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.2% and the Nasdaq added 0.4% in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up less than 0.1%. The majority of Asian and European exchanges were tracking in the green.

Shares of Netflix ( NFLX ) advanced 6.2% pre-bell as the streaming giant's third-quarter results and new subscriber count surpassed market estimates. Intuitive Surgical ( ISRG ) gained 6.8% after the robotic surgical systems company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.

Procter & Gamble ( PG ) , American Express ( AXP ) , Schlumberger ( SLB ) , Fifth Third Bancorp ( FITB ) , Regions Financial ( RF ) , Comerica ( CMA ) and Autoliv ( ALV ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

On the economic calendar, the housing starts and permits report for September is out at 8:30 am ET, while the weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is scheduled to speak at 9:30 am and later at 12:30 pm. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is slated to speak at 10 am, while Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller speaks at 12:10 pm.

Before the opening bell, bitcoin traded up 1.5% at $67,841, West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 0.6% to $70.28 per barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries held steady at 4.1% and gold increased 0.7% to $2,726 an ounce.