Wall Street remains hopeful of stimulus support on Tuesday and so do most of the other global markets, as the economy wades through uncertain times. Despite the multiple threats facing the global economy, the markets have been fairly resilient and have been trading closer to multi-month highs. The lack of any major catalysts to drive the markets in either direction has led to lackluster sentiment in recent sessions. Another session of directionless trading may be in the cards ahead of the housing reports of the week.
As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are up 28 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 2.80 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving up 8.25 points.
U.S. stocks held most below the unchanged line on Monday, although closing off the lows of the session, amid a lack of any major catalysts. The overbought levels prompted traders ignore some deal news and encouraging reports of the European Central Bank preparing itself for buying sovereign bonds.
On the economic front, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart is due to speak to the Latin American Chamber of Commerce and World Affairs Council, in Atlanta at 8:45 am ET.
In corporate news, Church & Dwight (CHD) announced an agreement to buy Avid Health, a producer of gummy form vitamins and supplements, for $650 million in cash. The company expects to close the deal early in the fourth quarter. The target company generated sales of about $230 million for the trailing twelve months ended June 30th.
Nordson (NDSN) reported third quarter results that exceeded estimates, while its fourth quarter guidance was also positive.
DreamWorks Animation (DWA) announced that it has entered into a new 5-year agreement with News Corp.'s (NWS) Twentieth Century Fox for marketing and distributing DreamWorks' all animated feature films due for release in 2013 through 2017.
Tuesday Morning (TUES) reported a fourth quarter-adjusted loss of 2 cents per share on net sales of $196.4 million, up 0.8 percent year-over-year. For 2013, the company expects earnings of 18 to 23 cents per share on net sales of $820 million to $830 million.
Urban Outfitters' (URBN) second quarter earnings rose to 42 cents per share from 35 cents per share last year. Net sales also improved to $676 million from the year-ago quarter's $609 million. The results exceeded estimates.
Analog Devices (ADI), Dell (DELL), Intuit (INTU), La-Z-Boy (LZB), Wet Seal (WTSLA) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the markets close.
The major Asian markets, with the exception of the Japanese and Hong Kong markets, closed higher, as traders firmly believed that policy actions will be announced in the near term to tackle the economic setback stemming from the eurozone debt crisis, growth slowdown in China and the impending fiscal cliff in the U.S.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average closed down 14.24 points or 0.16 percent at 9,157. Electric utility and most export stocks declined, while real estate, telecom, pharma, bank and auto stocks gained ground.
Meanwhile, Australia's All Ordinaries added 18.90 points or 0.43 percent before closing at 4,411. Energy stocks gave solid support to the index, while most other stocks, with the exception of REIT, IT and consumer staple stocks, also gained.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index languished in negative territory for much of the session, weighed down by lackluster results from CNOOC, before ending down 4.18 points or 0.02 percent at 20,100.
The minutes of Reserve Bank of Australia's August 7th policy meeting showed the central bank was content with its policy, suggesting that near term policy move is improbable.
Meanwhile, China injected 220 billion yuan in the money market through reverse repurchase operations, according to reports. The news has reduced expectations of monetary policy easing by the central bank.
European stocks are also advancing, as stimulus hopes abound. A successful debt auction by Spain also helped sentiment. Spain sold 4.51 billion euros in 12 and 18-month bills compared to its 3.5 billion to 4.5 billion euro-target. Borrowing costs eased from a previous auction on July 17th.
In corporate news, commodity trader Glencore International reported a 24 percent decline in its adjusted EBIT for the first half despite 17 percent revenue growth. The company announced an 8 percent increase in its interim dividend.
by RTT Staff Writer
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