US stock futures Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq december 22 2011

US stock futures Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq december 22 2011 : US stock futures are pointing for a higher open early Thursday morning as the positive mood in the markets continue with further indications of a stronger US economy. Concerns over the European debt crisis have been decreasing for the last few days, which have allowed the market to rally prior to the end of the year and recover from losses.

Financials once again are at the forefront with big banks trading higher in pre-market action as investors weigh in to whether the latest proposal to solve the European sovereign debt crisis will prove to be effective.span class="fullpost">

On the economic front the government will be releasing additional economic data with the final reading on the third quarter GDP and the weekly jobless claim numbers.

US blue chips were down 0.5 per cent by the close of trading in Europe. The tech-laden Nasdaq dropped 1.8 per cent weighed by disappointing results from Oracle, which has seen its earnings fall short of Wall Street forecasts for the first time in a decade.

Technology shares had the biggest decline in the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index among 10 industries, dropping 2.5 per cent as a group in early trading. Oracle, the world’s number three software-maker, plunged 14 per cent, the most since 2002.

Shares in Research in Motion Ltd jumped 11 per cent to $13.90 after Reuters reported that Amazon and other potential bidders had been looking at making an offer for the BlackBerry maker.

Walgreen, the largest US drugstore chain, slumped 1.9 per cent as profit trailed estimates.

By 2 pm New York time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 39.32 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 12,064.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 1.6 per cent to 2,562.77. For the latest updates on the stock market, visit Stock Market Today For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

Related Post: