Markets bounce back; Chinese exports jump; Bank earnings

London(CNN Business) 1. Relief in global markets: US stock futures moved higher on Friday as global markets turned positive after two days of turmoil.

European markets opened higher following a positive session in Asia.

Tech stocks in Asia were among the top gainers, with Tencent (TCEHY) adding 7.4%. Shares in Lenovo (LNVGY) and Samsung (SSNLF) increased roughly 2% while SoftBank (SFTBF) gained 4.6%.

The rebound follows another volatile session in the United States on Thursday that pushed the Dow's losses to 1,378 points, or 5.2%, over two days.

The S&P 500 shed 2.1% on Thursday. The Nasdaq dropped 1.3% as investors sold off tech to get some of their riskiest assets out of their portfolios.

2. Big bank earnings: Major banks, including Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), PNC Financial (PNC) and Wells Fargo (WFC) will report earnings before markets open in New York.

During the first half of the year, tax cuts helped drive bank profits to new records.

One exception is Wells Fargo, which has spent the past two years moving from crisis to crisis. The nightmare is still hurting its business: Bottom-line growth has stalled, and the bank remains in the penalty box with regulators.

3. China trade: Chinese exports rose nearly 15% in September compared with the same month a year earlier, according to new government data that helped support stocks in the region on Friday.

That beat analysts' forecasts and was stronger than the previous month, indicating that Chinese exporters have so far managed to defy US tariffs.

However, imports dropped slightly as domestic demand weakened. Analysts are questioning how long can the defiance last.

"With global growth likely to cool further in the coming quarters and US tariffs set to become more punishing, the recent resilience of exports is unlikely to be sustained," said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.

4. Saudi controversy: Saudi Arabia facing a backlash from investors, business leaders and media outlets following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Several business leaders have withdrawn from the country's Future Investment Initiative, also known as "Davos in the desert," which will be hosted later this month by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Uber boss Dara Khosrowshahi, Viacom (VIAB) CEO Bob Bakish, entrepreneur Arianna Huffington and Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor-in-chief of The Economist, have all pulled out of the event.

The New York Times has canceled its media partnership with the event.

A CNN spokesperson said the network was "evaluating our participation in the conference." Fox Business Network, Bloomberg and CNBC are monitoring the situation, according to spokespeople for the networks.

5. Companies and economics: BMW (BMWYY) published data showing that global sales increased 1.3% in the first three quarters of 2018 despite trade conflicts and emissions testing changes in Europe.

The German carmaker issued a profit warning in September, blaming in part "continuing international trade conflicts."

The University of Michigan will release its monthly consumer sentiment report Friday.

6. Coming this week:
Friday — Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) earnings; US consumer sentiment for October