Stock index futures are pointing to a positive open on Wall Street this morning, an upbeat sign in what’s most definitely been a downbeat month of May.
The Dow has fallen in eight of nine sessions since hitting its 2012 high on May 1, and the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are all coming off their lowest closes in more than three months.
Investors will, of course, keep an eye on the ongoing talks in Greece to form a new government, with all parties set to talk once again today.
In contrast to Monday, the economic calendar is quite busy today, with three reports out at 8:30am ET. Economists expect April retail sales to register a 0.1 percent increase, following a March rise of 0.8 percent.
The Consumer Price Index is seen coming in unchanged for April, with the core rate up 0.2 percent. In March, the CPI had increased 0.3 percent, with the core rate up 0.2 percent.
And the New York Fed’s Empire State Survey index should come in at 9.3 for May, according to consensus forecasts, after the April reading of 6.56.
At 10am ET, the National Association of Home Builders is out with its monthly sentiment index, seen edging higher by a point in May to 26.
And we’ll also get March business inventories at the same time, with forecasts calling for a 0.4 percent increase after February’s 0.6 percent rise.
Dow component Home Depot (HD) leads this morning’s list of corporate earnings reports, with retailer TJX also set to issue quarterly numbers.
Retailer JC Penney (JCP) leads the list of companies set to issue earnings after the closing bell.
Though Facebook (FB) is not yet trading, it’s on top of today’s list of stocks to watch. Sources tell
CNBC the company has increased the price range of its upcoming IPO to $34 - $38 per share from the prior $28 - $35. That means Facebook’s ultimate post-IPO valuation could exceed $100 billion.
Groupon (GRPN) reported first quarter profit of two cents per share, compared to Street estimates of $0.01. Its revenue of $559 million was also above expectations of $531 million, and an upbeat forecast helped its shares jump by about 10 percent in after-hours trading on Monday.
Yahoo (YHOO) remains in the news, as interim CEO Ross Levinsohn takes over. New chairman Fred Amoroso reportedly is calling for Levinsohn to stay on as permanent chief executive officer, according to the Wall Street Journal.
David Tepper’s Appaloosa Management has disclosed new stakes in Citigroup (C ), Bank of America (BAC), Google (GOOG), and General Motors (GM), while nearly tripling its stake in Apple (AAPL) and nearly doubling Its stake in Microsoft (MSFT).
Adobe Systems (ADBE) has named three new directors as the software maker increases the size of its board to 12 members from 9.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) holds its annual shareholders meeting today, as CEO Jamie Dimon prepares to face a barrage of questions over the recently –revealed $2 billion trading loss.
Avon Products (AVP) could be under pressure today, as Coty withdraws its $10.7 billion takeover offer. Avon had said it would respond within a week of the improved offer, but Coty stuck to its Monday deadline for Avon response.
Anadarko Petroleum (APC) has discovered a major natural gas field in Mozambique, which it says could hold more than 20 trillion cubic feet.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.