Investors are closely watching the health of the world's second-largest economy as the prolonged trade war with the United States fuels fears about a global recession.
While global equities fell on the third-quarter report, a raft of robust earnings from Coca-Cola Co, American Express Co and Schlumberger NV lifted the mood.
Coca-Cola Co shares gained 2.8% premarket after the beverage maker beat analysts' expectations for quarterly sales.
Credit card issuer American Express Co and oilfield services provider Schlumberger reported better-than-expected profits. Their shares rose 2% and 1.4%, respectively.
"The move is a mix of a lot of things which aren't all that negative or all that positive. It will be a quiet day, mainly driven by some earnings reports," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes were on pace to post their second week of gains, as the third-quarter earnings season kicked off on a strong note.
Analysts still expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings to have fallen by 2.9%, according to Refinitiv data, the first contraction since mid-2016.
"The pessimism around the onset of earnings season was too strong but because of that, there is plenty of room for companies to outperform," Frederick added.
At 8:32 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 20 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis remained unchanged.
Johnson & Johnson slipped 2.7% after the healthcare conglomerate said it would recall a single lot of its baby powder in the United States after the Food and Drug Administration found trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle purchased online.
Department store stores and other apparel retailers took a hit after Credit Suisse said weak third-quarter retail trends could continue into fall and holiday season.
The brokerage downgraded shares of Macy's, Gap Inc and L Brands to "underperform", pushing their shares down 4.6% and 6.5%. Nordstrom, Kohl's Corp and Hanesbrands also fell between 2% and 5%.
Shares of online broker E*Trade Financial Corp rose 4.8% after it posted better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue.
Caterpillar Inc dropped 1.1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the industrial giant's shares to "equal-weight", citing growing risks from weakening demand heading into 2020.