(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)

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Futures up: Dow 0.60%, S&P 500 0.71%, Nasdaq 0.73%

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JPMorgan ( JPM ), Wells Fargo ( WFC ) gain after reporting higher

quarterly

profit

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Beijing increases tariffs on US imports to 125%

(Updates with big bank earnings)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were

higher on Friday following earnings from big banks including

JPMorgan ( JPM ), while markets also assessed the latest escalation in

the trade war with China increasing its tariffs on U.S. imports

to 125%.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) jumped 3.5% and Wells Fargo ( WFC )

gained 1.2% before the bell after both the banks reported a

higher profit, kicking off the quarterly earnings season.

Asset manager BlackRock ( BLK ) was up 2.2% after its

first-quarter results, while Morgan Stanley ( MS ) is scheduled

to report before markets open.

Meanwhile, China retaliated after U.S. President Donald

Trump on Thursday doubled down on the country by lifting tariffs

to an effective rate of 145%, even as he announced a 90-day

tariff reprieve on most trading partners.

Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride in response to

tariff announcements in the past few days. Wall Street fell for

four straight sessions, before bouncing back on Wednesday with

the S&P 500 seeing its largest one-day percentage jump

since October 2008.

Stocks, however, slumped again on Thursday and were more

than 7% off from levels seen before last week, when Trump's

"reciprocal" tariffs sparked the market rout.

"The significant tariffs on China will cause economic

disruption if they remain in place ... while downside risks do

remain, we believe the risk of a more severe economic downturn

is now more limited," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at

UBS Global Wealth Management said.

At 06:58 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 238 points, or

0.60%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 37.5 points, or 0.71%,

while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 135.5 points, or 0.73%.

Most megacap and growth stocks edged higher after initial

losses in premarket trade, with gains in Apple ( AAPL ), Nvidia ( NVDA )

and Amazon.com ( AMZN ).

Investors sought refuge in traditional safe-haven assets

such as gold, which jumped to a record high. Safe-haven

currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc

also strengthened against the dollar.

The rally in the precious metal lifted gold miners, with

Newmont ( NEM ) and U.S.-listed shares of Barrick Gold ( GOLD )

rising 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively.

On the data front, a monthly reading of producer prices is

expected at 8.30 a.m. ET on Friday, which can provide more

insights on the inflation trajectory amid worries of Trump's

tariffs hampering global growth.

Treasury yields remained elevated after a steep bond selloff

earlier this week. The yield on the 10-year note was

at 4.393%, hovering near its February highs.

At least three Fed officials, including New York Fed

President John Williams, are scheduled to speak throughout the

day.

Traders currently expect more than 90 basis points of

interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, starting in

June, according to LSEG data.