In what many are now calling the “Mario Draghi rally”, Wall Street’s major averages are sitting at multi-year highs after the biggest one day rally since June 29. The Dow is coming off its highest close since December 2007, the S&P 500 since January 2008, and the Nasdaq since November 2000. That followed the ECB’s Thursday morning unveiling of a new sovereign bond-buying plan to support the European recovery.
Whether that continues this morning will likely depend on the August employment report, due to be issued by the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Consensus forecasts call for 125,000 new non-farm jobs during August, with the unemployment rate remaining at 8.3 percent. Some firms have raised their forecasts following the better than expected ADP private sector payroll report Thursday.
The earnings calendar is extremely light today, but we will see the latest quarterly numbers from supermarket operator Kroger (KR) as well as customer service software provider Comverse Technology (CMVT).
Pandora (P) could take a hit in today’s trading, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple (AAPL) is considering starting its own custom radio service similar to Pandora’s. Apple has declined comment on the story.
Mattress Firm Holding (MFRM) reported a quarterly profit of $0.42 per share, excluding certain items, compared to Street estimates of $0.28. The mattress retailer also raised its full year forecast, but investors appear to be concentrating, at least initially, on the company’s current quarter EPS guidance of $0.43 - $0.47. That’s below current estimates of $0.51.
Smith & Wesson (SWHC) reported fiscal first quarter profit of $0.28 per share, ten cents above estimates, on strong sales. The gun maker is also boosting its full year guidance to $0.85 - $0.95 per share from the prior $0.60 - $0.65. For the current quarter, it sees $0.19 - $0.21 per share compared to analyst estimates of $0.13. Analysts say Smith & Wesson and rivals are seeing sales rise amid concerns about a possible tightening of gun control laws.
Videogame makers Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (EA) could be under pressure today, as well as retailer GameStop (GME), as NPD reports that industry sales fell 20% in August compared to a year ago
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