Before the bell: Stocks to start higher as bulls attempt to restart rally

Melly Alazraki — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:35:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, Market Matters, Nokia Corp. (NOK), Alcoa Inc (AA), American Express (AXP), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Economic Data, Oil, Housing, Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis

Stocks were poised for a moderately higher open this morning, as investors try to continue last week's rally. This morning, investors will focus on data about inflation and the housing market.

In general, though, the mood has soured somewhat after Alcoa (NYSE: AA) slashed its dividend and gave a gloomy outlook Monday, American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) said Monday its credit card defaults and deliquencies have risen over the past three months, and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced layoffs Tuesday in response to lower demand.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, an hour before the opening bell, February data for housing starts and building permits are due out. According to Briefing.com, economists expect housing starts have fallen further in February, as have building permits.
At the same time, Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, is forecast to have risen 0.4% in February. Core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, is expected to be up 0.1%.
The Federal Reserve also starts its two-day policy meeting today.

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Before the bell: Stocks to start higher as bulls attempt to restart rally originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Before the bell: Stocks to recover; BAC, AMD, AA, FSLR, DIS, EMC, NOK ...

Melly Alazraki — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:20:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, Earnings Reports, Analyst Reports, Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Time Warner (TWX), Market Matters, Walt Disney (DIS), International Business Machines (IBM), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Alcoa Inc (AA), Bank of America (BAC), Yum Brands (YUM), Alcatel-LucentADS (ALU), EMC Corp (EMC), Economic Data, salesforce.com inc (CRM), Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis

U.S. stock futures were higher Tuesday morning, after stocks on Monday plummeted to lows not seen since in years as the Dow closed below 10,000 for the first time in four years. After Australia's central bank cut interest rates by the largest amount speculation regarding an interest rate cuts from central banks around the world helped alleviate some worries. Meanwhile, oil rebounded to around $90 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after plunging to an 8-month low Monday, and Bank of America issued a profit warning. Alcoa will unofficially kick off earnings season today.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares are trading 9.6% lower in pre-market action after it said Monday its third-quarter profit slid 68% to 15 cents a shares, below analysts' estimates of 61 cents a share. BAC also announced a dividend cut and raise $10 billion in stock offering. Analysts from Robert W. Baird and Deutsche Bank proceeded to cut their own estimates.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) shares are jumping 18% in pre-market trade after it confirmed plans to spin off its manufacturing operations to a new joint venture, Foundry Co., with an Abu Dhabi investment firm. The other part will be focused on designing microprocessors.

Continue reading Before the bell: Stocks to recover; BAC, AMD, AA, FSLR, DIS, EMC, NOK ...

Before the bell: Stocks to recover; BAC, AMD, AA, FSLR, DIS, EMC, NOK ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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