Friday, July 23, 2010

Indications: Futures gain with earnings, stress tests in focus

Stock Assault 2.0 - Artificial Intelligence Stock Market Software Alert Email Print

By Polya Lesova and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks readied for opening gains Friday as another spate of upbeat earnings from companies including Honeywell International Inc. and Ford Motor Co. spurred hope that the economic recovery still has traction.

"Investor jitters regarding the economy and corporate earnings growth appear to have slightly subsided," Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at Davidson Cos., wrote in a research note.

S&P 500 futures gained 3.60 points to 1,091.10, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2 points to 1,854.75. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 16 points to 10,283.

"We do believe that the current economic situation is not as bad as many traders feared earlier in the week," Dickson added.

But major moves could well be on hold ahead of European bank stress tests. Investors around the globe are looking to the results of the tests to shed light on how European debt might impact the global economy. Read more about the stress tests.

The Dow /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 10,425, +102.32, +0.99%) rallied 201.77 points, or 2%, Thursday, posting its biggest point and percentage gain in more than two weeks.

Global Dow

• MarketWatch Topics: Greece • Asia Markets | Europe Markets | Lat. Am. • Canadian Markets | Israel Stocks | London • U.S.: Market Snapshot | After Hours

Tools • Latin American/Canadian indexes • European indexes | Asian indexes

More on the Markets • Bond Report | Oil News | Earnings Watch • Currencies | U.S. Economic Calendar

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Microsoft Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!msft/quotes/nls/msft (MSFT 25.81, -0.03, -0.12%) , Ford /quotes/comstock/13*!f/quotes/nls/f (F 12.72, +0.63, +5.21%) and American Express Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!axp/quotes/nls/axp (AXP 44.79, +1.60, +3.70%) all reported quarterly earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

Recent earnings results have increased investor confidence that the economic future is less bleak than one might think after a stream of disappointing U.S. economic reports.

Among shares destined to move on Wall Street, Amazon.com Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!amzn/quotes/nls/amzn (AMZN 118.87, -1.20, -1.00%) dropped in preopen trading, after the online retailer late Thursday reported that earnings surged, but missed Wall Street forecasts. Read more on Amazon's results.

Honeywell /quotes/comstock/13*!hon/quotes/nls/hon (HON 43.50, +0.84, +1.97%) jumped after the diversified manufacturer said second-quarter earnings rose to $468 million, or 60 cents a share, on sales of $8.16 billion. On average, analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting a profit of 57 cents a share on revenue of $7.99 billion.

BP PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 36.86, +0.63, +1.74%) /quotes/comstock/23s!a:bp. (UK:BP. 398.60, -1.40, -0.35%) could be in focus. Tropical Storm Bonnie was heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, forcing the oil giant to temporarily suspend relief-well activities. Read more about BP.

Rex on Techs: Yahoo tests investors' patience

Shares of Ericsson AB /quotes/comstock/15*!eric/quotes/nls/eric (ERIC 11.28, -0.86, -7.08%) fell ahead of the U.S. open after tumbling in Swedish markets. The group's second-quarter net profit fell short of market expectations, and sales declined 8% because of supply issues and component shortages. Read more on Ericsson.

Also on the earnings front, blue-chip Verizon Communications Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!vz/quotes/nls/vz (VZ 28.02, +1.02, +3.78%) said it had a second-quarter net loss of $198 million, or 7 cents a share, which included 65 cents a share in charges related to an employee severance plan. At $26.8 billion, revenue just missed Wall Street expectations. Read more on Verizon.

Eyes on European stress tests

The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 255.97, +1.60, +0.63%) edged up 0.3% in midday trading, as investors awaited results from the European bank stress tests, which will be released starting at noon Eastern time.

"Overall, the transparency bar has been lowered and markets will now more likely gloss over vague details about how the stress tests were constructed," Deutsche Bank strategists wrote in a note to clients. "So our best guess is that these results kick the can further down the road without fully putting the matter to bed."

Shares of Germany's Deutsche Bank /quotes/comstock/13*!db/quotes/nls/db (DB 64.54, +0.27, +0.42%) edged up 0.2%, while France's BNP Paribas /quotes/comstock/24s!e:bnp (FR:BNP 49.82, -0.03, -0.06%) rose 0.3% and Credit Agricole /quotes/comstock/24s!e:aca (FR:ACA 9.36, -0.11, -1.11%) dropped 0.7%.

Spanish banking giant Santander /quotes/comstock/06x!csan (ES:SAN 10.12, +0.13, +1.34%) /quotes/comstock/13*!std/quotes/nls/std (STD 13.29, +0.33, +2.55%) gained 0.4%.

Shares of Vodafone Group /quotes/comstock/15*!vod/quotes/nls/vod (VOD 23.24, +0.46, +2.02%) gained 0.9% in London after the company reported a 5% improvement in quarterly sales and announced it will pay 1.25 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) to settle outstanding tax issues in the U.K. See more on Vodafone.

In the commodity markets, September crude-oil futures fell 74 cents to $78.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures rose $1.3 to trade at $1,196.9 an ounce.

Polya Lesova is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.

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NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Friday, Jul 23, 2010 :

STOCKS TRADING ON NYSE Arca AT A PRICE 15% OR MORE AWAY FROM
THE PREVIOUS TRADE DAY'S CONSOLIDATED CLOSE PRICE (AS OF 08:30:00 ET)

Stock Thursday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
KWK $12.72 $15.00 17.9% 122,030
BEC $59.83 $49.90 (16.6%) 197,770
DSTI $2.74 $2.29 (16.4%) 25,374


10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS ON NYSE ARCA AS OF 08:30:00 ET

BASED ON DOLLARS TRADED: | BASED ON SHARES TRADED:
Stock $ Volume Price PctChg | Stock Share Vol Price PctChg
SPY $65,823,792 $109.82 0.3% | F 1,213,968 $12.59 4.1%
APA $18,464,251 $89.31 ( 0.0%) | C 819,393 $4.11 0.5%
AMZN $18,393,293 $106.32 (11.5%) | SPY 599,714 $109.82 0.3%
F $15,255,086 $12.59 4.1% | YRCW 400,730 $0.29 3.3%
IWM $14,260,844 $63.74 0.5% | NOK 339,075 $9.34 1.7%
BP $12,097,831 $36.75 1.4% | BP 327,562 $36.75 1.4%
QQQQ $11,508,404 $45.75 ( 0.0%) | MSFT 272,614 $25.95 0.3%
BEC $9,748,227 $49.90 (16.6%) | QQQQ 251,596 $45.75 ( 0.0%)
MCD $9,543,163 $70.31 ( 1.5%) | IWM 223,498 $63.74 0.5%
AAPL $9,002,857 $259.42 0.1% | APA 207,320 $89.31 ( 0.0%)


Price changes may be affected by symbol splits and dividends.

Consolidated close price is the last print (excluding prints with trade
conditions) prior to 4PM ET.

This information is also updated on our web page every morning at 8:35ET:
http://www.tradearca.com/data/volume/daily_update.asp

This material is for informational purposes only.
NYSE Euronext and its affiliates ("NYSE Arca") are not soliciting any action based upon it.
This material is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal.
Any opinions expressed in this material are NYSE Arca opinions only.
NYSE Arca undertakes no obligation to update any of the information contained in this material in light of new information or future events.
THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED BY NYSE ARCA "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
NYSE ARCA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY, TITLE, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS TO THIS MATERIAL.
IN NO EVENT SHALL NYSE ARCA BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES AND DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE USE
OF THIS MATERIAL, ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE OR OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE MATERIAL) WITH RESPECT TO THIS MATERIAL.

Copyright [2010] by NYSE Euronext. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without prior express consent.

Indications: Futures gain ahead of Honeywell, Ford results

Stock Assault 2.0 - Artificial Intelligence Stock Market Software Alert Email Print

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures posted modest gains on Friday, buoyed by strong economic data from Germany and the U.K., as investors awaited earnings results from Honeywell and Ford as well as the results from the European bank-stress tests.

S&P 500 futures gained 3.80 points to 1,091.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7 points to 1,859.70. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 27 points to 10,294.

The Dow /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 10,322, +201.77, +1.99%) rallied 201.77 points, or 2%, on Thursday, posting its biggest point and percentage gain in over two weeks.

Global Dow

• MarketWatch Topics: Greece • Asia Markets | Europe Markets | Lat. Am. • Canadian Markets | Israel Stocks | London • U.S.: Market Snapshot | After Hours

Tools • Latin American/Canadian indexes • European indexes | Asian indexes

More on the Markets • Bond Report | Oil News | Earnings Watch • Currencies | U.S. Economic Calendar

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Traders received positive economic news from Europe for a second day. The German Ifo index posted an unexpectedly large jump in July, confirming the strong recovery in Europe's biggest economy.

The business-climate index rose to 106.2 in July from a reading of 101.8 in June, the Munich-based Ifo Institute reported. Read more on the Ifo data.

Also boosting sentiment, Britain's gross domestic product grew by a much stronger-than-expected 1.1% in the second quarter, government data showed. Economists had forecast a quarterly rise of 0.6%.

The British pound rose 1% to $1.5415 following the data and the euro /quotes/comstock/21o!x:seurusd (CUR_EURUSD 1.2937, +0.0053, +0.4114%) gained 0.3% to $1.2938.

No major U.S. economic data are scheduled for release on Friday.

Before the market opens, Ford Motor Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!f/quotes/nls/f (F 12.09, +0.54, +4.68%) , Honeywell International Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!hon/quotes/nls/hon (HON 42.66, +1.53, +3.72%) , McDonald's Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!mcd/quotes/nls/mcd (MCD 71.40, +1.29, +1.84%) and Verizon Communications Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!vz/quotes/nls/vz (VZ 27.00, +0.48, +1.81%) are scheduled to report quarterly earnings.

Eyes on European stress tests

The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 255.08, +0.71, +0.28%) edged up 0.2% in midday trading, as investors awaited the results from the European bank-stress tests, which will be released starting at noon Eastern time.

"Overall, the transparency bar has been lowered and markets will now more likely gloss over vague details about how the stress tests were constructed," Deutsche Bank strategists wrote in a note to clients. "So our best guess is that these results kick the can further down the road without fully putting the matter to bed."

Shares of Germany's Deutsche Bank /quotes/comstock/13*!db/quotes/nls/db (DB 64.27, +3.85, +6.37%) edged up 0.2%, while France's BNP Paribas /quotes/comstock/24s!e:bnp (FR:BNP 49.82, -0.04, -0.07%) fell 0.6% and Credit Agricole /quotes/comstock/24s!e:aca (FR:ACA 9.39, -0.07, -0.71%) dropped 0.7%.

Spanish banking giant Santander /quotes/comstock/06x!csan (ES:SAN 10.00, +0.01, +0.14%) /quotes/comstock/13*!std/quotes/nls/std (STD 12.96, +0.84, +6.93%) gained 1%.

Shares of Vodafone Group gained 0.8% in London after the company reported a 5% improvement in quarterly sales and announced it will pay 1.25 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) to settle outstanding tax issues in the U.K. See more on Vodafone.

Rex on Techs: Yahoo tests investors' patience

In Sweden, shares of Ericsson AB /quotes/comstock/15*!eric/quotes/nls/eric (ERIC 12.14, +0.53, +4.57%) tumbled 5.6% after its second-quarter net profit fell short of market expectations and sales declined 8% because of supply issues and component shortages. Read more on Ericsson.

Shares of oil giant BP PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 36.23, +0.10, +0.28%) /quotes/comstock/23s!a:bp. (UK:BP. 400.70, +0.70, +0.18%) fell 0.7%. Tropical Storm Bonnie, which is projected to track into the Gulf of Mexico, has forced the firm to temporarily suspend its relief-well activities in the region. See more on BP.

In the commodity markets, September crude-oil futures fell 23 cents to $79.07 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures posted small gains to trade at $1,198.30 an ounce.

Polya Lesova is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt.

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