After Tuesday's Rampage, Futures Rebound Before Earnings After Tuesday's massive sell-off in the markets, stocks futures were pointing toward a moderate Wednesday rebound ahead of a whole host of earnings from a variety of industries.
Wall Street is now awaiting what President Barack Obama will do, now that he's in office.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 91 points, or more than 1.2%, to 8036 as of 7:05 a.m. in New York. The broader-market S&P 500 futures were higher by 8.2 points, or more than 1%, to 814.20 and the Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4.25 points, or 0.37%, to 1151.75. With fair value calculated into the futures, the Dow is expected to open higher by more than 100 points.
The names to post earnings today are quite varied, ranging from the technology companies Apple (AAPL) and eBay (EBAY) to the legacy airline carriers American Airlines (AMR) and United Airlines (UAUA). Dow member and defense contractor United Technologies (UTX) is expected to post earnings as well today.
The big technology names like Apple and eBay will report earnings, like they traditionally do, after the closing bell. Apple is expected to report a quarterly profit of $1.39 a share, while eBay is expected to report a profit of 39 cents a share.
Traders will also get a few mid-sized financial names such as U.S. Bancorp (USB), SLM Corporation, formally known as Sallie Mae (SLM) and Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK) among others.
One name that came out after Monday's close that should be in heavy trading was International Business Machines, commonly known as IBM (IBM).
Big Blue reported a profit of $4.4 billion, or $3.28 share, up from $3.95 billion, or $2.80 a share, a year earlier. Revenue was $27 billion in the fourth quarter, a 17% jump from the same period a year ago. Thomson Reuters analysts were expecting the software giant to earn $3.03 per share on $28.15 billion in sales.
IBM, a Dow member, also boosted its 2009 forecast, saying it expects to earn a profit of at least $9.20 a share, analysts had been expecting a profit $8.75.
In the commodities markets, oil was higher by 71 cents to $41.55 a barrel in New York. Gold was higher by $3.30 to $858.50 an ounce.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 332.13 points, or 4.01%, to 7949.09, the S&P 500 sank 44.90 points, or 5.28%, to 805.22 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 88.47 points, or 5.78%, to 1440.86. The consumer-friendly FOX 50 dropped 29.30 points, or 4.60%, to 608.32.
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