Before the bell: Futures somewhat higher (TTWO, CAT, AAPL)
Posted by: admin in Real Estate and HousingBefore the bell: Futures somewhat higher (TTWO, CAT, AAPL)
Filed under: Before the bell, Major movement, International markets, Earnings reports, Apple Inc (AAPL), Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Economic data, Oil, Housing, Federal Reserve
Stock futures were somewhat higher early this morning, a day after U.S. markets had their ideal day in over five years following the Federal Reserve move to inject additional liquidity into the credit markets. Investors’ sentiment, it seems, remained upbeat, albeit, somewhat more subdued.
Early on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve announced it was pumping an additional $200 billion into the banking system, also allowing banks and bond dealers to swap mortgage-backed securities they couldn’t unload for the more liquid Treasuries. U.S. stocks rallied on the plan, with the S&P 500 rising 47 points, or 3.71%, and Nasdaq Composite adding 86 points, or 3.98% — rising the most in more than five years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average registered its fourth-biggest point jump ever, rallying 416 points, or 3.55%.
There’s not much new on the economic front and no doubt traders will mostly wait for the weekly statistics on U.S. crude oil inventories. As the dollar weakened further, oil reached an overnight record near $110 a barrel, but fell back somewhat. Traders expect the report today to show stockpiles grew last week, a reading which could help put a cap to on oil prices if it is correct.
Weekly mortgage applications data by the Mortgage Bankers Association is also to be released today.
Asian and European stocks followed the action in U.S. markets and rose Wednesday. The coordinated effort by several of the world’s central banks to ease the credit crisis helped the global rally in equities. While the magnitude of the rally hasn’t been as huge as that of U.S. stocks, most markets rose over 1.5%.
Still, with more money in the system and an expected rate cut, the dollar weakened further. There was also speculation the Fed’s plan won’t be enough to break the gridlock in money-market lending and stem credit losses. According to Bloomberg, the dollar fell to $1.5446 per euro by 10:18 a.m. in London, and slipped to 102.97 per yen.
In corporate news, Take Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), affirming rejecting the hostile bid from Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), reported a smaller-than-forecast loss Tuesday evening and lifted its earnings outlook due to orders for its “Grand Theft Auto 4″ game. TTWO shares are up over 2.6% in after-hours trading.
Also, Japan is investigating a possible defect in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s iPod after one of the popular digital music players reportedly shot out sparks while recharging.
Entries (RSS)