Before the bell: Stocks set for yet another low start with a wave of earnings ahead

Posted Apr 21st 2009 7:30AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Earnings Reports, Coca-Cola (KO), Market Matters, Caterpillar (CAT), duPont(E.I.)deNemours (DD), Merck and Co (MRK), United Technologies (UTX), Oil, Financial Crisis

U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday morning following Monday's sharp sell-off. Investors are reacting to Monday evening's earnings and bracing for another wave of corporate earnings today, including five Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks. Monday's sell-off highlighted Wall Street's worries over earnings generally and the financial sector in particular.

Five Dow components are set to report earnings before the bell: Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and United Technologies (NYSE: UTX).

Overseas, Asian stocks finished with big losses, but European stock markets rose after encouraging economic news from Germany and better than expected profits from British supermarket chain Tesco PLC.

Oil prices remained near $46 a barrel Tuesday after renewed concerns about the U.S. financial sector sent crude and stock markets tumbling. Crude prices have plunged from around $50 earlier this month.

There are no economic reports scheduled for today.

Print this