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Wall Street Sentiment Perks Up Ahead Of Data(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Sentiment on Wall Street seems to be firming up on Tuesday after yesterday's lackluster showing. Global cues are mixed, with Asian stocks closing mixed, while the European stocks are notably higher after Sweden's Riksbank lowered its benchmark interest rates to a record low of 0%, citing deflation threat. The accommodative policy adopted by central banks is one reason for traders staying invested in stocks despite the economic turbulence. The traders in the domestic markets may also track some key earnings from companies such as Pfizer and DuPont and economic data on consumer confidence and durable goods orders. At 6:10 am ET, the Dow futures are rising 75 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 10.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving up 23.75 points. US stocks ended a lackluster session on Monday on a narrowly mixed note, as a lukewarm housing data and apprehension ahead of the FOMC meeting weighed on the markets. On the economic front, the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy setting arm of the Federal Reserve, is set to begin its two-day monetary policy meeting. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its durable goods orders report for September at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect durable goods orders to rise 0.9% month-over-month, while excluding transportation, orders may have risen 0.5%. Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller is due to release the results of their house price survey for August at 9 am ET. The 20-city composite house price index is expected to have risen a seasonally adjusted 0.1% month-over-month. The Conference Board will release its US consumer confidence index for October at 10 am ET. Economists expect the index to rise to 86.8 from 86 in September. The results of the Richmond Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey due to be released at 10 am ET is expected to show a decline in the regional manufacturing index to 10 in October from 12 in September. The Treasury is set to announce the results of its auction of its 2-year notes at 1 pm ET. In corporate news, Amgen (AMGN) reported better than expected third quarter results and it also raised its guidance for 2014. Twitter (TWTR) reported in line earnings and better than expected revenues for its third quarter, while it raised its revenue outlook for the full year. PMC-Sierra's (PMCS) third quarter results were also ahead of expectations. Sanmina (SANM) reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings and revenues that were ahead of expectations. The company's first quarter guidance was also above estimates. Insurer's Hartford Financial (HIG) and XL Group (XL) reported better than expected third quarter operating earnings and revenues. Manitowoc (MTW) reported third quarter results that fell below expectations buy it confirmed its outlook for the year. Meanwhile, Crane's (CR) third quarter results trailed expectations and it lowered its 2014 guidance. Ameriprise Financial (AMP), Arthur Gallagher (AJG), Boston Properties (BXP), C.H. Robinson (CHRW), Cray (CRAY), Electronic Arts (EA), Express Scripts (ESRX), Facebook (FB), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Marriott (MAR), Owens-Illinois (OI), Panera Bread (PNRA), US Steel (X), Western Digital (WDC) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading. The major Asian markets closed mixed yet again, with the Australian, Japanese, South Korean, Indonesian and Singaporean markets retreating, while the rest of the major markets ended higher. With the mood on Wall Street turning lackluster overnight, risk aversion kicked in even as Chinese and Hong Kong market advanced solidly amid expectations that the government will benevolently infuse stimulus into the system to reinvigorate slowing growth. The Nikkei 225 average of Japan languished below the unchanged line throughout the session before closing down 58.81 points or 0.38% at 15,330. Australia's All Ordinaries closed down 7.90 points or 0.15% at 5,434. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended at 23,520, up 377.13 points or 1.63%, and China's Shanghai Composite Index closed 47.43 points or 2.07% higher at 2,338. On the economic front, a report released by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that retail sales in Japan climbed 2.3% year-over-year in September, a bigger increase than the 0.8% growth expected by economists. European stocks opened notably higher and after retracing some of their gains in early trading, they have begun climbing. The mood has been rendered cautious in the absence of any major domestic economic data and in anticipation of the FOMC decision on Wednesday. Earnings released from the region has been mixed. In corporate news, UBS (UBS) reported higher third quarter profits, which was smaller than expectations, as it had to set aside USD1.9 billion as reserves for legal costs. Standard Chartered's results also reflected a hit from restructuring charges, which pushed third quarter profits lower. UK's Lloyds Banking Group reversed to a profit on a pre-tax basis in the nine-month period ended September and also revealed plans to eliminate 9,000 jobs and close 200 branches to skimp on costs. Sanofi's (SNY) reported a small decline in its fourth quarter profits, while Novartis (NVS) reported a strong increase in its third quarter profits. Dutch telecom company KPN reported a decline in its third quarter, although the decline was in line with expectations. BP's (BP) third quarter underlying replacement cost profit came roughly in line with expectations despite declining year-over-year and also announced an increase in its third quarter dividend. BG Group's third quarter profit also declined from last year. On the economic front, German import prices continued to decline in September, according to a report released by the German Federal Statistical Office. Import prices were down 1.6% year-over-year in September following the 1.9% drop in August. Meanwhile, export prices edged up0 0.1%. On a monthly basis, import and export prices were up 0.3% and 0.2%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |