MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Rally; Housing Starts Rise

By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures rallied on Friday, pointing to a positive start on Wall Street, after a roller-coaster week that has been colored by concerns about global growth and the spread of Ebola.

Futures for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4) jumped 24.60 points, or 1.3%, to 1,875.20, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) (DJZ4) gained 176 points, or 1.1%, to 16,191. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDZ4) picked up 53.25 points, or 1.4%, to 3,794.75

The sharp gains came after a choppy session on Wall Street on Thursday, when the benchmarks fell around 1% at the open. However, they recovered throughout the day, helped by comments from President of the St. Louis Federal Reserve James Bullard, who raised the possibility of extending bond purchases. Bullard isn't a voting member this year of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

Earnings: Several heavyweights reported results ahead of the opening bell. General Electric Co. (GE) shares rose 3.6% in premarket action after third-quarter earnings topped market expectations.

Defense contractor Honeywell International Inc. (HON) lifted its low end of its 2014 per-share outlook, after third-quarter earnings beat expectations, sending the shares 3.8% higher.

Morgan Stanley (MS) gained 3.6% ahead of the open after the bank reported third-quarter earnings that topped forecasts.

Another bank, Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) said third-quarter profit climbed 11%.

Movers and shakers: Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) slid 14% in premarket trade after the retailer late Thursday warned weaker sales trends first reported in September are continuing.

Google Inc. (GOOGL) slipped 0.1% premarket after the Internet giant late Thursday reported third-quarter below forecasts. Revenue rose to $16.52 billion from $13.75 billion.

SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) slumped 2.6% ahead of the bell on Friday, after the memory-chip maker on Thursday reported a drop in profit.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) was off 0.4% in Friday's premarket trade. The chip maker on Thursday reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 3 cents a share, below the 4 cents a share forecast by analysts. AMD also announced it will cut 7% of its global workforce by the end of the fourth quarter.

Fed speakers: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Friday, in a speech on Friday said the recent sustained rise in inequality in the U.S. is of great concern. Yellen did not attempt to answer the "difficult questions" of how to promote equal opportunity.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren told CNBC on Friday he does not expect the U.S. economy to need another round of quantitative easing, but added that he would not rule out that possibility.

Data: Construction started on new U.S. homes rose 6.3% in September, bouncing up after a sizable August drop, led by growth for volatile apartment building, according to government data released Friday.

Also Friday, markets will get a fresh reading on consumer sentiment, which will be released at 9:55 a.m.

Other markets: European markets rebounded after the recent market slide, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index up for the first time in nine sessions.

Asian stocks closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 down 1.4%.

Oil markets took a breather on Friday after crude futures touched below $80 a barrel for the first time since June 2012 on Thursday. Metals were mixed, while the dollar fell against most major currencies.

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