Stocks look strong at open Expectations of strong retail sales has stocks pointing higher the day after the Fed says it may not be done with its course of interest rate hikes. May 11, 2006: 6:31 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks investors were looking for a strong reading on retail sales to lift stocks and perhaps take the Dow to a record high.
U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a higher open for U.S. markets, ahead of the 8:30 a.m. ET report on retail sales. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that overall sales gained 0.8 percent in April, which would be the biggest gain seen since exceptionally strong January report. Excluding auto sales retail sales are expected to be up 0.9 percent.
The report comes the day after the Federal Reserve said it saw a strong economy and signaled it might not be done with its course of rate hikes. The statement from the central bank said it expected slower economic growth in the second half of the year and emphasized it would look at economic readings when making rate hike decisions.
Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.15 percent from the 5.12 percent level reached late Wednesday following the Fed action.
The Fed statement sent the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slightly lower, but the Dow still posted a narrow gain to close to within about 80 points of its record high.
Oil prices were higher in early trading following the rally Wednesday afternoon on a report that House Speaker Dennis Hastert was opposed to lifting tariffs on imported ethanol.
The June light crude futures contract for NYMEX was up 32 cents to $72.45 in electronic trading, while the June contract for Brent crude gained 38 cents to $72.82
Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday as Japan's Nikkei fell on expectation of a stronger yen, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained after the U.S. Treasury Department ruled on Wednesday that China was not a currency manipulator. Major European markets were up in early trading as the euro fell against on the dollar.
In corporate news, insurer American International Group posted reduced earnings that sent shares of the Dow component down 3 percent in after-hours trading.
Media conglomerate News Corp. (Research) posted a better than forecast gain in earnings and increased the size of its share buyback plan by $3 billion. Shares gained 2 percent in after-hours trading following the report.
Internet bellwether Google (Research) holds its annual meeting Thursday afternoon, the day after the company unveiled new software offerings. Investors will be looking for more guidance from the company about its plans and outlook. Embattled automaker Ford Motor Co. (Research) also meets with its shareholders.
Moved from the "United States" forum. Original message number: 236
DOW Price at posting:
0.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Not Held
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)