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Wall Street Looking To Regain Momentum(Alliance News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) WASHINGTON (Alliance News) - Trading in the US index futures suggests that Wall Street stocks may open Thursday's session notably higher, encouraged by positive manufacturing data from the eurozone and China. Global cues are mixed, with Asian stocks closing mostly higher, while the major European averages are trading mixed. The domestic markets may also take cues from earnings released both yesterday after the market close and due before the market open today and some key economic data on jobless claims and manufacturing activity. As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are rising 88 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 10 points and the Nasdaq Composite futures are moving up 19.25 points. US stocks closed Wednesday's session notably lower, as positive earnings failed to inspire confidence amid worries concerning the economy. On the economic front, the Labor Department is set to release its jobless claims report for the week ended October 18th at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect claims to have risen to 285,000 from 264,000 in the previous week. The Federal House Finance Agency is due to release its house price index for August at 9 am ET. Economists expect the house price index to increase 0.3% month-over-month following a 0.1% increase in July. Markit is scheduled to release flash estimate of its national manufacturing survey at 9:45 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for a decline in the index to 57 in October from 57.9 in September. The Conference Board is due to release its leading economic indicators index for September at 10 am ET. Economists expect a 0.6% month-over-month increase in the index for the month. The Kansas City Federal Reserve will release the results of its regional manufacturing survey at 11 am ET. The manufacturing index based on the survey is expected to remain unchanged at 6 in October In corporate news, AT&T (T) reported third quarter earnings and revenues that trailed estimates and it reduced its revenue guidance for the full year, blaming the action on less than expected subscriber additions for its no-contract Next wireless plans. CA Technologies' (CA) second quarter earnings exceeded estimates, while its revenues were slightly shy of estimates. The company's full year guidance was lukewarm. Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) reported third quarter earnings that trailed estimates, while its revenues were ahead of estimates. Sallie Mae (SLM) reported third quarter earnings in line with estimates and it raised the low end of its full year earnings guidance, which however, is below expectations. O'Reilly (ORLY) reported better than expected third quarter results and it raised its guidance for 2014. Logitech's (LOGI) second quarter earnings and revenues beat estimates and it reiterated its above consensus sales guidance for 2015. Altera (ALTR), Amazon.com (AMZN), BJ Restaurants (BJRI), DeVry (DV), Edward Lifesciences (EW), Ingram Micro (IM), KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Maxim Integrated (MXIM), Microsoft (MSFT), NETGEAR (NTGR), NetSuite (N), Swift Transportation (SWFT), VeriSign (VRSN) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading. Most major Asian markets ended mixed, with the Australian, Chinese, Hong Kong, Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese markets retreating, while the Singaporean, Malaysian, New Zealand and Indonesian markets ended higher. The Indian market was closed for a public holiday. The negative lead from Wall Street weighed on the markets even as the Chinese manufacturing activity data offered some encouragement. The Japanese market retreated, as the yen firmed up on rising risk aversion. The Nikkei 225 average ended down 56.81 points or 0.37% at 15,139. Australia's All Ordinaries lost 3.40 points or 0.06% before closing at 5,370. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 23,333, down 70.79 points or 0.30%, and China's Shanghai Composite Index ended 24.14 points or 1.04% lower at 2,302. On the economic front, the results of a survey by Markit Economics and HSBC showed that manufacturing activity picked up pace in October. The manufacturing index edged up 0.2 points to 50.4. A report released by the National Australia Bank showed that business confidence in Australia was unchanged in the third quarter. The business confidence index was flat at 6 in the third quarter but the business conditions index rose to 3 from 1 in the second quarter. After opening lower, European stocks recovered in early trading. However, the major averages in the region have given back their gains and are currently trading mixed, as traders digested domestic earning and private sector activity data. In corporate news, Credit Suisse reported third quarter profits that were ahead of expectations. Finland's Nokia (NOK) also reported better than expected profit growth for its third quarter and also raised its full year core operating margin forecast. German automaker Daimler reported a strong increase in its third quarter profits on broad based growth across most of its markets. French telecom company Orange reported a decline in its third quarter profit and earnings, which was not as worse as expected. The company also confirmed its outlook for the full year. However, Unilever (UL) reported a smaller than expected increase in third quarter underlying sales growth, with China seeing marked weakness. On the economic front, Markit reported based on its preliminary survey that private sector activity in the region saw a mild upturn in October. The composite purchasing managers' index rose to 52.2 in October from 52 in September. Economists expected a decline in the index to 51.5. The manufacturing PMI rose 0.4 points to 50.7, suggested an unexpected expansion, while the service sector PMI was unchanged at 52.4. The UK Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales in the UK fell 0.3% month-over-month in September, marking the first drop in four months. Economists expected a 0.1% drop for the month. Annually, retail sales rose a less than expected 2.7%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |