Friday, August 31, 2012

US. Stock futures higher wait Bernanke speech 8-31-2012

US. Stock futures higher wait Bernanke speech 8-31-2012 : Stocks climbed in the minutes after Friday's opening bell, as investors looked ahead to a highly anticipated policy speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114 points, or 0.9%, to 13114, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index advanced nine points, or 0.7%, to 1409. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 19 points, or 0.6%, to 3067.

Mr. Bernanke is scheduled to speak at the central bank's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., at 10 a.m. EDT. Investors have been awaiting the speech all week, speculating over whether the Fed chief will hint at further stimulus measures, which have boosted stocks in the past. Mr. Bernanke signaled a second round of the Fed's bond-buying program, known as "quantitative easing," two years ago in Jackson Hole.

A series of data points are scheduled for release around the time Mr. Bernanke's speech. The final reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for August is slated for a 9:55 a.m. release EDT. Factory orders for July are due out at 10 a.m. EDT.

Crude-oil futures rose 1.7% to $96.16 a barrel, while gold futures tacked on 0.5% to $1,665 a troy ounce. The dollar fell against the euro and against the yen. Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 1.63% as demand rose.

In corporate news, Facebook fell to a new all-time low, down 3.4%, after analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut their view on the stock's future price to $23, citing the likelihood for market pressure as additional shares to hit the market as insiders and employees increasingly become eligible to trade their shares in the months ahead.

Splunk climbed 17% after the data-analysis software company reported a narrower-than-expected fiscal second-quarter loss on revenue that topped forecasts, and provided an upbeat sales outlook for the current quarter.

Zumiez dropped 10% after the teen-apparel retailer reported August same-store sales that were below analyst expectations and provided a fiscal third-quarter earnings outlook that was below current forecasts.

OmniVision Technologies gained 7.9% after the semiconductor maker reported fiscal first-quarter revenue and provided a current-quarter outlook that were well above analyst expectations.

For the latest updates on the stock market, PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market Today
For the latest updates PRESS CTR + D or visit Stock Market news Today

Related Post:

No comments:

Post a Comment