Stock futures were higher this morning, as the market, encouraged by results from Oracle and Nike, seemed poised for a positive open Thursday. Investors this morning also await some economic readings, as well as earnings for Bear Stearns and FedEx.On Wednesday, U.S. stocks had a volatile session (again) and ended mixed. A downgrade of bond issuers dampened the uplifted mood investors had after the ECB move and a mostly positive auction of funds to banks by the Federal Reserve. The Dow industrials fell 25 points, or 0.19%, the S&P 500 declined nearly 2 points, or 0.14%, but the Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 5 points, or 0.19%.
Several economic indicators are due out today:
- At 8:30 a.m. EST, the final release of third-quarter GDP is scheduled. No surprises are expected and this number should remain the same as the preliminary estimate at 4.9% for the quarter.
- Also at that time, weekly jobless claims is scheduled.
- At 10:00 a.m., the November leading economic indicators from the Conference Board will be reported. While economists expect another decline, they estimate it was smaller in November.
- Finally, around noon, the December Philly Fed survey is due out with another decline in the index expected.
Today, also another auction from the Fed of $20 billion in 28-day funds.
Overseas, the People's Bank of China increased its interest rate to 7.47% from 7.29% to combat inflation. However, the Bank of Japan held interest rates at 0.5% as it lowered its outlook on the Japanese economy. Asian stocks finished mixed following these moves. Meanwhile European markets seem on their way to snap a three-day losing streak.
What's making headline this morning is earnings from software provider Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) and apparel maker Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) from Wednesday after the close, both beating estimates:
Not hurt by the economic woes, and even more so, allaying concerns of such future woes, Oracle posted numbers well beyond analyst expectations in its fiscal second quarter and raised its guidance for next quarter. Oracle earned $1.3 billion, or 25 cents per share, for the three months ended Nov. 30, a 35% increase from net income of $967 million, or 18 cents per share, at the same time last year. Not including one time charges, Oracle earned 31 cents per shares, beating the 27 cents per share analysts had estimated. ORCL shares soared 6.55% in premarket trading (7:01 a.m.).
Many ask whether Oracle's performance and bullish outlook could be interpreted as a signal for the entire technology industry, but analysts don't think it to be the case.
What's making headline this morning is earnings from software provider Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) and apparel maker Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) from Wednesday after the close, both beating estimates:
Not hurt by the economic woes, and even more so, allaying concerns of such future woes, Oracle posted numbers well beyond analyst expectations in its fiscal second quarter and raised its guidance for next quarter. Oracle earned $1.3 billion, or 25 cents per share, for the three months ended Nov. 30, a 35% increase from net income of $967 million, or 18 cents per share, at the same time last year. Not including one time charges, Oracle earned 31 cents per shares, beating the 27 cents per share analysts had estimated. ORCL shares soared 6.55% in premarket trading (7:01 a.m.).
Many ask whether Oracle's performance and bullish outlook could be interpreted as a signal for the entire technology industry, but analysts don't think it to be the case.
Nike, too, exceeded analysts expectations when it posted a 10% rise in earnings, fueled by international sales growth. Nike reported second-quarter net income of $359.4 million, or 71 cents per share, up from $325.6 million, or 64 cents, in the same period a year earlier, exceeding the 66 cents a share on revenue of $4.21 billion expected by analysts according to Thomson Financial. NKE shares rose 4% after-hours and overseas.
Could these two save the day today, tough? It is quite possible that earnings from Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), despite expectations of deep losses, could take the market down with it even without any extra surprises like the Morgan Stanley's (NYSE: MS) surprising extra writedown announced when it reported its earnings Wednesday.
Also reporting today is FedEx (NYSE: FDX), which is expected to report a 20% drop in earnings.
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