Before the bell: Futures higher as oil drops further

Posted May 28th 2008 7:44AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the Bell, Earnings Reports, Deals, Employees, Market Matters, US Airways Group (LCC), AMR Corp (AMR), UAL Corp (UAUA), Economic Data, JetBlue Airways (JBLU), Oil

Stock futures were higher early Wednesday morning as oil and other commodities declined, providing some relief.

U.S. stocks ended higher Tuesday, especially the tech heavy Nasdaq composite which rose 36 points, or a solid 1.5%. The Dow industrials and the broader measure S&P 500, rose 68 points, or 0.55%, and 9 points, or 0.68% respectively. A dramatic retreat in crude of more than $3 a barrel helped boost sentiment.

On the economic docket today is April durable goods order, which economists are expecting to show a further decline. The report is due to release at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Weekly crude inventories, usually released Wednesdays, will be postponed due to the shortened week. Meanwhile, though, oil prices continued to decline, dropping below $127 a barrel Wednesday in Asia, extending the previous session's decline. It seems that the higher prices cut demand, which in turn, pressured prices back.

On the corporate side of things, Borders (NYSE: BGP) said its losses narrowed in the first quarter to $31.7 million, or 53 cents per share, although its same-store sales fell. The results were below estimates of a loss of 47 cents per share. The relaunch of the bookseller's retail Web site Tuesday didn't impress Wall Street much either and shares dropped 7%. There was continued pressure on the shares in after-hours trading.

Shares of airlines may also be in the spotlight Wednesday, after JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) said it will delay buying 21 new Airbus jetliners 4-5 years from because of rising fuel costs. JBLU shares were down some 4.7% in after-hours trading.

Meanwhile, AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR)'s American Airlines, also faced with soaring fuel prices, said it has rejected its pilot union's contract proposals because the cost is too high. The union now wants to know if talks are at an impasse. The airline also detailed the first round of cuts. AMR shares, however, are 2% higher in premarket trading.

Similarly, merger talks between UAL Corp. (NYSE: UAUA)'s United Airlines and US Airways (NYSE: LCC) appear to have slowed and perhaps even fallen apart, according to the New York Times. Shares of both are higher.

Tags: amr, bgp, featured, jblu, lcc, uaua