Thursday, September 27, 2012

Stocks look for boost from Asia






Click on chart for more premarkets data.




NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were set to open higher Thursday, after markets in Europe and Asia rose on hopes that China's central bank will engage in further monetary policy easing.



The People's Bank of China has injected a net ¥365 billion ($58 billion) into money markets this week, just as China's marquee stock index -- the Shanghai Composite -- reached a multi-year low.




Talk that the central bank will take further easing measures next week boosted Asian markets. The Shanghai Composite bounced off the low and ended up 2.6%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 1.1%, and Japan's Nikkei ticked up 0.5%.



It's yet another sign that central banks are taking measures to hold off a global slowdown, and that positive sentiment spread to European markets. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.3%, the DAX in Germany gained 0.5% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.8%.



Investors are waiting for the Spanish government to release its 2013 budget plan Thursday, a day after anti-austerity protests in Greece and Spain. Friday brings auditors' results of bank stress tests, which could give investors a better idea of just how deep Spain's banking troubles run.



It's been a worrying week for Spain, as yields on 10-year Spanish bonds shot up to 6.06% Wednesday after the leader of Catalonia called for early elections, signaling a lack of confidence in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Bond yields continued to hover slightly above 6% Thursday.



Related: Spain's precarious future



In the United States, investors will have several economic reports to digest, including data on first-time claims for unemployment benefits and a revised reading on economic growth.



The government's weekly report on initial jobless claims is due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Claims are expected to have edged down to 379,000 in the week ended Sept. 22, from 382,000 the previous week.



A third reading on the U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product is also due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect economic growth to come in at 1.7%, in line with the previous report.



Also due before the open, the Census Bureau will release a report on durable goods orders, with economists anticipating a 5% drop in August, following a 4.1% increase in July.



Later in the morning, a report on pending home sales is due from the National Association of Realtors. Economists predict sales to have ticked up 0.5% in August, following a 2.4% jump in the previous month.



Stocks ended lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 logging its fifth consecutive daily loss.



Fear & Greed Index



Companies: HP (HPQ, Fortune 500) shares fell more than 1% in premarket trading Thursday, following a move by Jefferies to downgrade the computer maker's stock and lower its target price.



Discover Financial Services (DFS, Fortune 500) is scheduled to release its quarterly results ahead of the market open, with analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expecting the company to post earnings of $1.04 a share.



Micron Technology (MU, Fortune 500) is expected to report a loss of 22 cents per share, while Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) is anticipated to announce earnings of $1.12 per share.





After the market closes, Research in Motion (RIMM) will report its results. The troubled Blackberry maker is expected to post a loss of 43 cents per share.



Currencies and commodities: The dollar rose against the euro, but fell versus the British pound and Japanese yen.



Oil for November delivery added 28 cents to $90.26 a barrel.



Gold futures for December delivery rose $5.10 to $1,758.70 an ounce.



Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slid, pushing the yield up slightly to 1.64% from 1.62% late Wednesday.








Source & Image : CNN Money

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