Before the bell: Investors bullish ahead of new reports

Posted Sep 28th 2009 7:30AM by David Schepp
Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Walt Disney (DIS), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

Stocks are expected to open modestly higher on Wall Street after a losing week last week. On Friday, stocks fell for the third straight day after reports on new-home sales and durable goods proved weaker than expected, leading investors to believe the economy has not yet emerged from the recession.

Stocks to watch today include pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), which agreed Monday to buy an 18% stake in European drug maker Crucell (NASDAQ: CRXL) for 301.8 million euros ($440 million), as part of a deal to develop flu vaccines.

In another drug deal, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) said Monday it has agreed to buy Solvay Group's drug business for 4.5 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in an all-cash deal. Belgium-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals will bring Abbott more than $3 billion in annual sales, the Illinois-based company said.

Investors are also eying Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) after the drug company reported its latest quarterly profit rose 8.3 percent.

In overseas markets Monday, stocks fell in Asia and Europe following last week's dour economic news from the U.S. A gathering of the G-20 nations in Pittsburgh did little to spark investor buying, despite pledges by officials to keep stimulus dollars flowing.

No economic reports are due out today, but the rest of the week is jam-packed with new data on home prices, consumer confidence, and personal income and spending, among others -- including Friday's much-anticipated employment report. Analysts expect September's job numbers will show the nation's unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent, up from 9.7 percent in August.

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