Stocks are indicated higher on better-than-expected earnings and economic news Friday. Thirty minutes before the opening bell, stock index futures hint at a possible 60 or 70 point gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Stock index futures rallied around a stronger-than-expected GDP report Friday morning. The data, released an hour before the exchanges opened in New York, showed the US economy growing at a 5.7 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, which was better than the 4.7 percent increase economists had predicted. The Employment Cost Index [ECI] rose .5 percent, and also better than the .4 percent economists had expected.

Stock index futures were in positive territory prior to the data following better-than-expected earnings from Amazon.com (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT), which are trading up 3 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.

Attention turns to the Chicago PMI at 9:45 a.m. eastern time. Economists expect the gauge of regional manufacturing activity to decline to 57.2 in January, down from 58.7 the month before. The University of Michigan Sentiment Index is due 10 minutes later. Economists expect a reading of 73 for January, up modestly from the 72.8 at the end of December.

Bonds are lower ahead of the news and on the strong GDP print. The benchmark ten-year Treasury is down 4/32nd and yields 3.65 percent.

The dollar jumped .85 to 90.72 against the Japanese yen. The euro lost .0028 to 1.3944 against the buck.

Action in the commodities market is mixed. While crude oil gained 85 cents to $74.49 a barrel, gold lost 60 cents to $1083 an ounce.