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Exxon Mobil Corp., the biggest and richest U.S. oil company, reported a 52% drop in profit for its second quarter, as higher profit from its refining and chemical operations couldn’t offset plunging earnings in its exploration and production business amid lower crude prices. Shares of Exxon Mobil, down 16% over the past year, fell 1.8% to $81.50 in premarket trading.

The International Monetary Fund is participating fully in the ongoing talks for a new bailout program for Greece, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said on Friday, dismissing reports the IMF could be abandoning the rescue plan. The talks on a new bailout program are ongoing "with the IMF present and fully participating in the talks in Athens," Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told journalists in Brussels.

Commodities and China investors waved a relieved goodbye to July on Friday following a brutal sell-off that has revived fears about the global economy and overshadowed more encouraging news from the U.S. and Europe.

There were signs that the rout wasn't over yet as Chinese stocks - which have suffered their worst monthly drop in six years - wobbled again, oil prices slipped following a more than 15 percent July slump and metals from industrial copper to precious gold hit multi-year lows.

U.S. stocks edged up on Friday as historically low wage growth supported the view that the Fed could delay the timing of a rate increase.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) rose 10.96 points, or 0.06 percent, to 17,756.94, the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 2.98 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,111.61 and the Nasdaq composite (IXIC) added 12.37 points, or 0.24 percent, to 5,141.16.

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Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:

It's the last day of July and if stocks hold steady Friday, all three U.S. indexes will close out a bumpy month with gains. 

1) Market overview

U.S. stock futures are not making any major moves ahead of the open.

The Dow Jones industrial average has added 0.7% this month. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have both posted healthier gains of 2.2% and 2.9%, respectively.

European markets are mixed in early trading.

Most Asian markets ended with gains, except for China where the Shanghai Composite dipped by 1.1% and the Shenzhen index edged down by 0.8%. Chinese markets have stabilized a bit after crashing earlier this month. The Shanghai index lost 14% in July. 

2) Major movers

LinkedIn, Expedia, Hanesbrands: Shares in LinkedIn (LNKD, Tech30) are highly volatile premarket as investors react to the group's earnings released Thursday. At first, shares shot up, but then pushed deep into negative territory as investors grew concerned about future revenue growth.

Shares in Expedia (EXPE) are rising by about 8% premarket after releasing better-than-expected quarterly results.

Shares in Hanesbrands (HBI) are tumbling by about 8.5% in reaction to its new earnings report from Wednesday afternoon. 

3) More earnings

Earnings continue to roll in Friday.

Several major oil companies including Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Phillips 66 (PSX) are expected to release results before the market opens.

Honda (HMC) reported results this morning that beat expectations. Shares are up about 1.5% in Tokyo. Airbus (EADSF) shares are also rising by 3% in Paris after reporting earnings Friday morning. 

4) Watch commodities and currencies

Crude oil is skidding lower again -- down nearly 2% -- and currency markets are volatile.

"The last trading day of the month [brings the] risk of choppier than normal trading as institutional investors re-balance portfolios and funds adjust to fit around month end performance statistics," wrote Simon Smith, chief economist at FxPro, in a Friday note.

In early trading, the Aussie dollar and Canadian dollar were weaker, while the Swiss franc was firmer against most major currencies.

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What is it? It's a leading indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to market conditions, and their purchasing managers hold perhaps the most current and relevant insight into the company's view of the economy.

When? At 9:00am Eastern Time.

Trading Tip: If the actual number is higher than the forecast, you can expect the CNY to rise.

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What is it? Canada is unique in that they release fresh GDP data on a monthly basis. A quarterly GDP figure is also released, however it's merely a summation of the monthly data. It's the broadest measure of economic activity and the primary gauge of the economy's health.

When? At 8:30am Eastern Time.

Trading Tip: If the actual number is higher than the forecast, you can expect the CAD to rise.

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1) The U.S. economy rebounded in the second quarter, bouncing back after labor disputes at West Coast shipping ports led to lackluster growth in the first three months of the year. U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.3 percent in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said in its preliminary estimate Thursday. 

2) Facebook Inc's (O:FB) plans to focus spending on its two messaging services, Instagram and its virtual reality headset business was cheered by Wall Street analysts, who said the efforts would boost long-term growth. Of the 50 brokerages covering the stock, at least 20 raised their price targets. Piper Jaffray was the most bullish with a $146 target - 50 percent over Facebook's Wednesday close of $96.99. The median price target is $110.

3) Crude oil futures edged higher on Thursday, amid indications that Saudi Arabia could cut production at the end of the summer and following a larger than expected drawdown in U.S. supplies last week. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery tacked on 37 cents, or 0.69%, to trade at $53.75 a barrel during European morning hours.

4) Procter & Gamble Co (N:PG), the world's largest consumer products maker, reported its sixth straight fall in quarterly sales, as the stronger dollar continued to weigh on the value of sales from overseas markets. Shares of the maker of Pampers diapers and Tide detergent were down marginally at $80.43 on Thursday.

5) Time Warner Cable Inc (N:TWC), which is being bought by Charter Communications (O:CHTR), reported lower-than-expected revenue for five quarters in a row as it lost about 45,000 residential video customers. Cable companies have been struggling with declining subscriber numbers as viewers shift to cheaper and more flexible streaming services offered by Netflix Inc (O:NFLX), Amazon.com Inc (O:AMZN), Hulu and others.

6) Natural gas futures extended losses on Thursday, despite data showing that U.S. natural gas supplies rose less than expected last week.

Natural gas for delivery in September on the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 5.4 cents, or 1.9%, to trade at $2.809 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours after hitting a daily peak of $2.882 earlier, the most since July 23. Prices were at around $2.821 prior to the release of the supply data.

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