LONDON — Stock index futures at 7am ET indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) may open up by 0.18% this morning, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) may open 0.25% higher. The CNN Fear & Greed Index remains in ‘extreme fear’ territory, and is set to open unchanged at 22 today.
European markets fell this morning, dragged lower by big oil stocks, which fell as the prospect of western military intervention in Syria receded, after the British parliament voted against military action in a debate last night. In the eurozone, unemployment remained unchanged at 12.1% in July, but youth unemployment rose slightly to 23.4%, up from 23.3% for the same period last year. At 7am ET, the FTSE 100 was down 0.40%, the DAX was down 0.45%, and the CAC 40 was down 0.46%.
In the US, investors will have a raft of economic data to process ahead of the Labor Day weekend. At 8.30am ET, July’s personal income figures are expected to show that income rose by 0.1% in July, compared to 0.3% in June, while consumer spending is expected to have risen by 0.3% in July, down from 0.5% in June. At 9.45am, August’s Chicago PMI is expected to read 53.5, up from 52.3 in July, while at 9.55am, August’s University of Michigan consumer sentiment index is expected to rise slightly to 80.5, from 80.0 in July.
Companies scheduled to report quarterly earnings today include Big Lots, which reported a smaller-than-expected 14% fall in second-quarter adjusted earnings per share, earlier this morning. The firm reported second quarter earnings of $0.31 per share on sales of $1.23bn, but analysts had been expecting earnings of $0.25 per share on sales of $1.23bn. Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores is also expected to report earnings before the opening bell.
Meanwhile, Salesforce.com stock may be in demand when markets open, after the software firm gained 7.7% in pre-market trading, following better-than-expected results last night. The firm said that sales rose 31% to $957.1m in the second-quarter, while adjusted earnings rose to $0.09 per share, beating analysts’ forecasts of $938.9m and $0.07 per share. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts may fall; the firm’s shares were down 11% in pre-market trading, after it missed analysts’ forecasts in results published after the last night’s closing bell.
Finally, let’s not forget the Dow’s daily movements can add up to some serious long-term gains. Indeed, Warren Buffett recently wrote: “The Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497 in the 20th Century, a staggering 17,320% increase that materialized despite four costly wars, a Great Depression and many recessions.“
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> Roland does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
