U.S. stock futures point to a flat opening Monday morning as traders turn apprehensive about extending the late-day recovery seen on Wall Street last Friday following sharp losses in recent sessions amid sovereign credit concerns in Europe
With no major economic data on tap, traders might look for cues from earnings and also go bargain hunting at lower levels in late trading session, with an eye on the developments in Europe in connection with debt crisis.
As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures were unchanged from previous close, and the S&P futures were up by 0.20 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down by 1.00 point.
Developments in the Euro region, especially in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland with regard to sovereign credit concerns and ECB's response to the growing uncertainty in the region, in addition to the developments in commodity and currency markets will be of interest to traders as the earnings season meanders toward the final phase and economic calendar points to thin activity during the week.
Before the market opens for trading, Chindex (CNDX), CVS Caremark (CVS), Hasbro (HAS) and Loews Corp. (L) are among the major companies that would be reporting their quarterly results.
Electronic Arts (ERTS), Hatford Financial (HIG), Lincoln National (LNC), Owens & Minor (OMI) and Waste Connections (WCN) are among the major companies that will report their results after the markets close.
In other corporate news, commercial lender CIT Group, Inc. (CIT) on Sunday named John Thain as the its new chairman and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Thain succeeds Jeffrey Peek, who announced in October his intention to resign from the positions at 2009 year-end. Replacing Peek, who resigned from the positions effective January 15, 2010, the company had appointed one of its directors Peter Tobin as the interim chief executive officer in mid-January.
Oil Light sweet crude oil price for March delivery is presently quoted at $71.56 a barrel, up $0.37 from its previous close of $71.19 a barrel in New York on Friday.
Dollar The U.S. dollar is gaining against the pound and the yen, but is trading weaker against the euro.
World Markets The markets across Asia ended in negative territory on increasing concerns about the sovereign credit concerns in Europe. A recovery in the final hour of trading on Wall Street that helped major averages end in positive territory failed to enthuse Asian markets, as traders look for more cues to support the sustainability of the economic recovery. The markets in Europe are presently trading in positive territory, but off the day's high.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com