kennyboy: dont touch market today -- dummy will be killed Stocks Set to Open Up Ahead of Earnings
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:35 a.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures are trading in positive territory Wednesday, ahead of the release of Morgan Stanley's fiscal second-quarter earnings.
Dow Jones futures were recently up 28 points, Nasdaq futures were ahead 4.50 points and S&P futures were up 2.60 points.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley reports fiscal second-quarter results before the bell Wednesday. The firm has warned investors its earnings could be down about 15 percent to 20 percent from a year earlier, citing weakened market conditions. Analysts expect the Wall Street firm to earn $1 a share.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed up 0.5 percent to 11547.28, its highest level since mid-April, in a rally that some traders attributed to global hedge funds increasing their exposure to Asian markets.
In London, the FTSE 100 was recently higher 0.49 percent at 5107.2, following the release of the Bank of England's minutes for June that were seen more dovish than expected.
In corporate news, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway is willing to invest more money in the U.S. energy sector than the $10 billion to $15 billion he previously discussed. Buffett said he sees more opportunities in the utilities industry, including nuclear power, according to the The Wall Street Journal's Wednesday edition.
The European Commission Wednesday said it has reached an antitrust settlement with Coca-Cola Co. that will see the U.S. soft-drinks giant escape a fine but have to significantly change its business practices. The settlement is binding on Coca-Cola until 2010 and it faces the threat of a penalty equivalent to 10 percent of worldwide revenue if it breaches the agreement terms.
After the bell Tuesday, Ford Motor, blaming a worse-than-expected sales slump among its core sport-utility vehicles amid rising gasoline prices, slashed its full-year earnings outlook for 2005 for the second time this year and said it would make deeper job and cost cuts than originally announced. The No. 2 U.S. auto maker in terms of production said it would terminate 5 percent of its salaried work force in North America automotive operations, or 1,700 jobs, to cut costs.
Besides Morgan Stanley, metal processor Worthington Industries will report earnings results Wednesday, seen at 51 cents a share for its fiscal fourth-quarter. Also reporting earnings are energy and chemicals company Kerr-McGee and home-furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond.
No major economic data is scheduled for release Wednesday.
Stocks finished mixed Tuesday, but Dow Jones Industrial Average members Caterpillar and Hewlett-Packard both had a banner day as they hit new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9.44, or 0.09 percent, to 10599.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.94, or 0.14 percent, to 2091.07, and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 2.49, or 0.2 percent, to 1213.61. |
