China data give Asia and Europe a lift By Barbara Kollmeyer and Polya Lesova, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open Friday following strong trade data from China and the U.S. The regular session’s volume was likely to be thin as a massive blizzard was forecast to bear down on the Northeast. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH3 +0.04% gained 5 points to 13,903, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index SPX -0.18% rose 2 points to 1,507. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NDH3 +0.29% rose 10.25 points to 2,752.2. Economic data captured Wall Street’s attention on Friday. The U.S. trade deficit fell almost 21% in December to $38.5 billion, marking the biggest drop in four years, as exports rose and imports softened. Read: U.S. trade deficit sinks 21%. In China, exports and imports accelerated at a faster-than-expected rate in January, according to official customs data released Friday In the meantime, the Northeast, including New York city, was bracing for a major blizzard, which is expected to reach maximum intensity on Saturday morning. Thousands of flights have been grounded. Read: Northeast blizzard, aka Nemo, already affecting travel Stocks fell Thursday as investors took a breather from heady gains seen this year; the Dow industrials DJIA -0.30% finished down 42.47 points, or 0.3%, to 13,944.05. Read: U.S. stocks close lower on buying fatigue `Traders seem to be tiring’ • Need to Know: Crucial gut checks before the U.S. markets open Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets, said a sustainable move past 14,000 for the Dow industrials is going to be tough as “traders seem to be tiring of the relentless bouts of buying we’ve seen of late.� Read: Jim Stack: Still right -- and still bullish Movers Moody’s Corp. MCO -1.05% reported a 66% surge in fourth-quarter earnings on solid revenue. AOL Inc. AOL +1.98% said fourth-quarter profit jumped 57% as the Internet group posted strong advertising sales, helping the company grow revenue year-over-year for the first quarter in eight years. Read: AOL net profit up 57% on advertising growth McDonald’s Corp. MCD -0.46% said its global comparable sales in January fell 1.9%. Shares of LinkedIn Corp. LNKD +11.67% rose 9% after the social network reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. Read: LinkedIn crushes targets; shares jump In overseas markets, Europe markets keyed off gains for Asia and the China data. Read: Europe stocks up, keyed off Asia gains Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Follow her on Twitter @bkollmeyer. Polya Lesova is MarketWatch's New York deputy bureau chief. Follow her on Twitter @PolyaLesova.

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