By Balachander Suriyanarayanan: Subscribe to Balachander's RSS feed
August 27, 2010 10:36 AM EDT
Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening ahead of a key US GDP figure as well as a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Futures on the S&P 500 are up 2 points to 1046.80, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 13 points to 9,980.00 and Nasdaq100 futures are up 3.25 points to 1,770.75.
Investors are eagerly awaiting for the GDP numbers as other economic data released so far this week were unable to boost confidence about the global economic recovery.
Economists forecast the U.S. GDP growth in the second quarter to be revised down to 1.4 percent annualized rate from the 2.4 percent rate projected last month. In the first quarter, the economy grew at a 3.7 percent annual rate.
Investors also eye Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index which is due to be released after market opens Friday.
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On the corporate front, Hewlett-Packard and Dell will be on limelight amid their bidding war for computer-storage company 3Par.
On Thursday, US stocks closed lower as early positive sentiment over jobless claims data faded, succumbing to pervasive pessimism over the health of the broader economy, ahead of a speech by the Fed chairman.
Before market opens:
• European shares are currently trading slightly lower on anxiety over fresh GDP numbers from the U.S.
• The Office for National Statistics said UK GDP rose 1.2 percent in the second quarter of 2010, revised up from initial estimate of 1.1 percent, and 1.7 percent higher than the second quarter of 2009.
• Germany’s import price inflation continued to rise in July, a report from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The import price index rose 9.9 percent year-over-year in July, while economists had expected a 9.7 percent rise.
• FTSE 100 is currently trading down by 20.03 points, while DAX30 is trading down by 24.91 points and CAC 40 trading up by 21.20 points.
• Financial stocks were among the top losers, while oil and gas shares fell on concerns about US demand.
• Germany’s second-biggest lender Commerzbank fell 2.9 percent after German business daily Handelsblatt, citing financial sources, said the company was planning to sell new shares as early as autumn this year.
• Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG fell 0.36 percent, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused to accept the company’s biologics license application (BLA) for breast cancer treatment trastuzumab-DM1, or T-DM1.
• The euro declined 0.03 percent to 1.2712 against the dollar and the yen advanced 0.33 percent against the greenback.
• Crude oil futures fell 0.29 percent and copper futures fell 0.17 percent. In precious metal sector, gold futures slightly rose 0.01 percent, while silver futures fell 0.17 percent.
During Asian Market hours:
• Asian stocks closed higher on Friday ahead of the US economic data and the speech from the Fed chairman.
• Japanese Nikkei rose 0.95 percent or 84.58 points to 8,991.06, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.07 percent and Chinese Shanghai up 0.3 percent.
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