Wall Street's fiscal optimism appears to be slowly fading, as reflected by the major U.S. index futures, which point to a mixed opening on Tuesday. Armed with added enthusiasm concerning the housing market, traders now look ahead to the housing starts report due to be released ahead of the markets open. Economists expect a moderation in housing starts after the sharp increase in September. The focus is also likely to be on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's public address scheduled for the day. That said, trading activity could drop off ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
As of 6:30 pm ET, the Dow futures are down 2 points, while the S&P 500 futures are up 0.30 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 2.5 points.
U.S. capitalized on abounding hopes concerning the resolution of the U.S. fiscal cliff and positive housing data, with all the three major averages advancing notably.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department is set to release its housing starts data for October at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect housing starts to decline to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 836,000 in October from 872,000 for September. Building permits, an indicator of future housing activity, is expected to drop to 865,000 from 894,000.
Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker is scheduled to speak at the Shadow Open Market Committee's Fall Symposium, which is titled "The Fed's Monetary Policy Adrift" at 9 am ET. Bernanke will speak to the Economic Club of New York at 12:15 pm ET.
In corporate news, Agilent Technologies (A) reported fourth quarter results that exceeded estimates, while its earnings guidance for the full year is below estimates.
Bob Evans's (BOBE) second quarter results trailed expectations. While noting that it is exploring strategic alternatives for its Mimi Café's business segment, the company raised its long-term non-GAAP earnings per share growth guidance to 8-12 percent from 7-10 percent. The company reaffirmed its 2013 non-GAAP earnings per share guidance of $2.67-$2.73, which surrounded the consensus estimate.
Groupon (GRPN) may be in focus after Tiger Global Management said it has acquired a 9.9 percent stake in the company. Brocade (BRCD) reported fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings of 17 cents per share on revenues of $578 million. Up 5 percent year-over-year. The results were ahead of estimates.
Dycom (DY) reported first quarter results that were ahead of estimates. Separately, the company announced plans to acquire Telecommunications Infrastructure subsidiaries from Quanta Services (PWR) for $275 million in cash.
Strum, Ruger & Company (RGR) said its board has declared a special dividend of $4.50 per share. Meanwhile, the board of Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB) approved the repurchase if up to $50 million in its common stock. Retailer Fred's (FRED) announced that its board has declared a special one-time dividend of $0.19 per share in addition to its quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share.
The Asian markets ended mixed despite Wall Street's exuberance overnight over fiscal concerns. The Japanese market snapped a 4-session winning streak and ended modestly lower after the Bank of Japan did not expand on its bond buying program, although not many expected a change. The Chinese, Hong Kong, Indian and Indonesian markets also ended lower, while the New Zealand, Australian, Taiwanese, Singaporean and South Korean markets advanced.
Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 10.56 points or 0.12 percent at 9,143. Technology, steel, electric utility, construction, resource and financial stocks were among the worst hit. Meanwhile, insurance, telecom and auto stocks saw some strength.
The Bank of Japan opted to maintain the status quo, keeping the uncollateralized overnight call rate unchanged at 0-0.1 percent. The asset purchase program was also left untouched at 91 trillion yen after it was expanded for a second month in October.
Australia's All Ordinaries rose steadily over the course of the session, ending up 24.90 points or 0.57 percent at 4,408. The Reserve Bank of Australia said in the minutes of its November meeting that the need for an interest rate cut was outweighed by higher than expected.
Hong Kong's Hang closed at 21,228, down 33.78 points or 0.16 percent. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite Index settled 8.06 points or 0.40 percent lower at 2,009 after data showed that foreign direct investment into the nation fell year-over-year in October.
After yesterday's strong rebound, European stocks are currently trading mixed ahead of key Eurogroup meeting in Brussels later today to finalize releasing an additional installment of financing to Greece. Meanwhile, Moody's downgraded its rating on France to Aa1 from AAA but maintained its rating outlook at 'negative.'
In corporate news, Syngenta announced its decision to buy Sunfield Seeds, although it did not reveal the terms of the deal. Low cost carrier easyJet reported pre-tax profits of 317 million pound for the year ended September, up 27.9 percent year-over-year. The board of the company amended its dividend policy to pay out 1/3rd of its pre-tax profits compared to 1/5th earlier.
Swiss financing giant Credit Suisse (CS) announced a reorganization of its global investment banking business, separating it from its asset management unit and its private bank business. The latter two units would be merged.
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