TD: U.S Stock Futures Point To Sharply Lower Opening
(RTTNews) - U.S. stock futures point to a sharply lower opening Tuesday morning, as traders turn cautious ahead of the two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve starting today amid concerns about recovery. Weak trading in world markets might also impact sentiment. Traders will continue to focus on earnings, which continue to trickle in.
As of 6.15 am ET, the Dow futures were down 107.00 points, the S&P futures were up 12.40 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were down 17.25 points.
On the economic front, traders will be presented with a report on factory goods orders for September at 10.00 a.m ET by the Commerce Department. Analysts expect that orders for factory goods rose 0.9% during the month.
Traders may also react to the merger news released yesterday after the markets closed for trading. Power tool maker Stanley Works (SWK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and Black & Decker Corp. (BDK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) said that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create Stanley Black & Decker, an $8.4 billion global industrial leader in an all-stock transaction valued at about $4.5 billion. The companies said that Stanley and Black & Decker combination would create a stronger, globally diversified company with a broad array of products and services.
Earlier in the day, Generic drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) posted higher profit for the third quarter, boosted by strong sales of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone and Albuterol inhaler ProAir.
AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), agricultural commodities and products processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), diversified global technology company Emerson Electric Co. (EMR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), telecom services provider Frontier Communications Corp. (FTR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), integrated oil and natural gas company Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), transaction processing and related services provider MasterCard Inc. (MA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (LPX | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Marvel Entertainment Inc. (MVL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Oshkosh Corp. (OSK | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) and PetroQuest Energy (PQ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) are some of the major companies reporting results before the market opens for trading.
Packaged foods and beverages company Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), Myriad Genetics (MYGN | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), are Quest Software Inc. (QSFT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) are among the companies that report results after the market close.
After the market closed for trading in the previous session, non-hazardous solid waste collection and disposal services provider Republic Services Inc. (RSG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) said that its third quarter profit increased from last year, on strong revenue growth as core price increase helped offset higher charges.
Independent exploration and production company Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) said that its third quarter profit fell sharply from last year, as revenue dropped mainly as a result of lower energy prices. At the same time, the company raised its sales-volumes forecast for the full year 2009.
Swiss banking giant UBS AG (UBS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) reported a loss for its third quarter, that reflected hefty charges mainly related to its own credit for financial liabilities. On an underlying basis, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of CHF 1.56 billion. Looking ahead, UBS said it expects another own credit charge in the fourth quarter, while anticipating further progress in restoring the underlying profitability of the business in future quarters, particularly in 2010.
Oil Light sweet crude oil price for December delivery is presently quoted at $77.23 a barrel, down $0.90 from its previous close of $78.13 a barrel in New York on Monday.
Dollar The U.S. dollar is presently gaining against the euro and the pound, but trading weaker against the yen.
World Markets The major markets across Asia, except China and Japan, ended lower in negative territory, on wide spread sell-off as traders turned nervous ahead of key economic data in the U.S. slated for release during the week. Japanese market is closed for a public holiday, while China continued its northward march with nominal gains. The European markets are also trading in negative territory dragged down by banks.
