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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.

Stock futures are pointing to gains on Wall Street when markets open this morning, led by Nasdaq, which is getting a boost from a rise in Apple shares in the premarket after its consensus-beating earnings report late Monday.

Futures for the S&P 500 - which had clawed back a further 0.9 per cent on Monday after this month's stomach-churning pullback - are up about 0.4 per cent. They were up nearly double that earlier this morning, however, as buying enthusiasm waned with the release of key earnings reports, including a disappointing outlook from Coca-Cola and poor sales numbers from McDonald's. TSX futures are mildly in the red.

European markets are being buoyed by a number of better-than-expected earnings reports across the pond and by reports that the European Central Bank is out doing some asset purchasing this week, buying Italian and French covered bonds as well as Spanish debt.

It was an active night in Asia, where China released gross domestic product figures showing that the economy grew 7.3 per cent in the third-quarter. While that was the slowest pace in nearly six years, it was above economists' expectations for a rise of 7.2 per cent, and September industrial production data also beat forecasts. China retail sales and fixed-asset investment both missed expectations, however. The Shanghai market lost 0.7 per cent, with the latest data giving rise once again to speculation that China may announce more measures to reach its official growth target of 7.5 per cent for this year. Commodities that are dependent on Chinese demand, such as crude oil and copper, are trading mildly higher this morning.

Here in North America, the major focus will be on earnings, with several big names reporting, including the Canadian railways. We detail results so far in our Stocks to Watch section below. Heading into this morning, nearly 30 per cent of the S&P 500's market cap has reported. So far, earnings are beating by 4.5 per cent while revenues have surprised by 1.0 per cent, according to RBC calculations.

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

MARKETS:

Futures:

S&P 500 +0.42 per cent; Dow +0.25 per cent; Nasdaq +0.71 per cent; S&P/TSX -0.08 per cent

Equities:

Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.08 per cent

Shanghai composite index -0.71 per cent

Japan's Nikkei -2.03 per cent

London's FTSE 100 +0.78 per cent

Germany's DAX +1.54 per cent

France's CAC 40 +1.77 per cent

Stoxx 600 +1.57 per cent

Commodities:

WTI crude oil (Nymex Nov) +0.53 per cent at $83.15 (U.S.) a barrel

Natural gas (Nymex Jan) -0.21 per cent at $3.84 (U.S.)

Gold (Comex Dec) +0.27 per cent at $1,248.10 (U.S.) an ounce

Copper (Comex Dec) +0.28 per cent at $3.00 (U.S.) a pound

Currencies:

Canadian dollar at 88.85 (U.S.), up 0.0026

U.S. dollar index up 0.20 at 85.16

Bonds:

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield 2.22 per cent, up 0.02

ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

(10 a.m. ET) U.S. existing home sales for September. Consensus is for a 1 per cent rise to an annualized rate of 5.10 million.

STOCKS TO WATCH:

Canadian Pacific Railway reported Q3 EPS of $2.31 (Canadian) versus expectations for $2.38. CP's closely watched operating ratio, which compares revenue with expenses, improved to 62.8 per cent from 65.1 per cent in the second quarter.

Apple shares are up about 2 per cent in the premarket after beating both earnings and revenue expectations for the third quarter, posting a 13 per cent rise in profit thanks to strong demand for its new iPhone products. Several analysts are modestly hiking their price targets on the stock this morning.

Coca-Cola reported adjusted Q3 EPS of 53 cents, matching Street expectations. But it warned it will missed its earnings target for this year and said it will broaden cost-cutting measures. Shares are down 4 per cent in the premarket.

McDonald's reported adjusted Q3 EPS of $1.51 (U.S.) versus Street expectations for $1.36. But revenues missed estimates and its global same-store sales shrunk more than expected, including in the U.S.. Shares are down 1.6 per cent in the premarket.

Lockheed Martin reported Q3 EPS of $2.76 (U.S.) versus expectations for $2.72, but it lowered its 2015 sales guidance.

Reynolds American reported Q3 adjusted EPS of 95 cents (U.S.) versus expectations for 91 cents.

Verizon Communications reported Q3 EPS of 89 cents (U.S.) versus expectations for 90 cents.

Kimberly-Clark reported Q3 EPS of $1.61 (U.S.) versus expectations for $1.54. The company announced it will cut up to 1,300 jobs.

Other earnings today include: Canadian National Railway; Celestica; Colabor Group; Cree; E*TRADE Financial; Harley-Davidson; Intuitive Surgical; Kimberly-Clark; RadioShack; Robert Half International; Six Flags Entertainment; Southwest Bancorp; Whirlpool; Yahoo.

ANALYST ACTIONS:

Several brokers have raised their price targets on Apple, including Morgan Stanley boosting its target to $115 (U.S.) from $110, Macquarie hiking its target to $118 from $104, and Canaccord raising its target to $120 from $115.

Raymond James cut its price target on Methanex to $80 (U.S.) from $87 and maintained a "strong buy" rating.

Evercore Partners downgraded IBM to "hold" from "buy" with a price target of $180 (U.S.).

THIS MORNING'S TOP INVESTING READS ON THE WEB:

How a European recession could be good news for investors.

Three reasons to ignore market downturns.

A ranking of countries that benefit the most from cheap oil.

Emerging markets bonds might be a better way of reaching for yield right now.

Retail investors - the so-called dumb money - were doing a lot of panicking last week.

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Have feedback on our daily Before the Bell report and suggestions on how to make it more useful in your investing day? Please contact Inside the Market Editor Darcy Keith at dakeith@globeandmail.com.

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