Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, April 12:

1. JP Morgan kicks off Q1 reporting season

Although some companies have already released numbers, JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) will mark the unofficial start of the first-quarter reporting season on Friday at around 7:00 AM ET (11:00 GMT).

The Dow component and largest U.S. bank by assets is expected to earn $2.36 a share in the quarter on revenue of $28.5 billion.

Investors are watching to see whether its earnings miss in the final quarter of 2018 was a blip, or the beginning of a trend; JPM’s report, to be followed by Wells Fargo'sand PNC Financial's (NYSE:PNC) later in the day, could set the tone for the reporting season.

Read more: JPMorgan: Q1 Earnings Will Signal Whether Bank's Best Growth Period Is Over - Haris Anwar

Overall, this earnings season is expected to be a disappointment. FactSet expects earnings for companies in the S&P 500 to decline 4.2%, which would be the first year-over-year decline since the second quarter of 2016.

2. Stocks upbeat while waiting for big bank earnings

Despite a relatively flat close in the prior session, U.S. futures registered modest gains, suggesting upbeat expectations for bank earnings. At 5:32 AM ET (9:32 GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures gained 159 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 futures rose 11 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 29 points, or 0.4%.

Elsewhere, European stock markets were more cautious. The pan-European STOXX 600 was in negative terriorty, though little changed, as the region’s trading session neared midday.

Earlier, Asian stocks saw mixed trade on Friday with particular attention paid to Chinese stocks. Although the Shanghai Composite ended the session flat, it registered its worst week of losses so far this year.

3. U.S. consumer sentiment expected to weaken

Corporate results aside, the health of the U.S. consumer will dominate Friday’s economic calendar.

The University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of April consumer confidence at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).

The Michigan consumer sentiment index is expected to edge down to 98.1, following two-straight months that saw gains above expectations, according to economist forecasts compiled by Investing.com.

The consumer expectations component is also expected to drop slightly, falling to 88.5.

4. Oil on track for best weekly stretch since 2016

Bulls piled back into oil on Friday, pushing the rally to its best stretch in nearly two years, after uncertainty over the economic outlook took a bite out of the rally in the prior session.

U.S. crude oil futures jumped 86 cents, or 1.4%, to $64.44 by 5:36 AM ET (9:36 GMT), while Brent oil traded up 72 cents, or 1.0%, to $71.55.

The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that “there is an extraordinarily wide divergence of view as to how strong growth will be” in 2019, sparking fears over the impact on demand for crude.

West Texas Intermediate oil ended the prior session down 1.6% in a context marked by OPEC-led production curbs and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela that have sent prices up more than 40% this year.

Despite Thursday’s blip, U.S. crude was on track for weekly gains of nearly 2% in what would be its longest weekly winning streak since 2016.

Still ahead, Baker Hughes will release its weekly rig count data, an early indicator of future output in the U.S., at 1:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT).

Last week’s reading showed that energy firms increased the number of oil rigs operating in the U.S., bouncing off the lowest count in nearly a year and breaking after six straight declines.

5. China’s imports from U.S. plunge 28%

While markets follow developments in trade talks between the world’s two largest economies, China produced some mixed trade data to end the first quarter on Friday.

Chinese exports rebounded to a five-month high in March, beating expectations and providing some relief over the outlook for an economic recovery.

At the same time however, imports plunged more than expected, falling for a fourth straight month and matching the decline seen last December.

Picking through the data, the Chinese Customs Department indicated that China’s total trade with the U.S. actually slumped by 11% in the first quarter, driven by a 28% plunge in the receipt of America’s imports.

During the month of March, China’s imports from the U.S. fell by 21%, while Chinese exporters sent 10.6% more of their products to American consumers. Although some analysts commented that Chinese exports may have been affected by seasonality, the numbers give the impression that the current state of trade may not be coming out in favor of the U.S.

As talks progress, Washington and Beijing have largely agreed on a method to police any trade deal they eventually reach, one of America’s key demands, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday.