U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Wednesday, July 13. The Dow Futures are at 18280.0 for a gain of 16.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2148.5 for a gain of 2.75 points. The Nasdaq Futures are at 4579.0 for a gain of 9.25 points. The Russell Futures are at 1206.2 for a gain of 4.50 points.
In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere stocks traded higher. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was higher at 16231.43 for a gain of 135.78 points or 0.84 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was higher at 21322.37 for a gain of 97.63 points or 0.46 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite was higher at 3060.69 for a gain of 11.31 points or 0.37 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex was higher at 27815.18 for a gain of 7.04 points or 0.03 percent. In Europe, stocks were higher. The FTSE 100 was higher at 6694.71 for a gain of 14.02 points or 0.21 percent. Germany’s DAX was higher at 9983.34 for a gain of 23.56 points or 0.19 percent. France’s CAC 40 was higher at 4353.15 for a gain of 21.77 points or 0.50 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was higher at 337.77 for a gain of 1.51 points or 0.45 percent.
Wednesday’s Factors and Events
The outlook for second quarter earnings continues to remain positive which is helping stock valuations in the near-term.
Leading reports on the economic calendar for Wednesday include the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Mortgage Applications report, Import and Export Prices, the Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations, the EIA Petroleum Status Report, the Beige Book and the Treasury Budget.
Stocks trading actively in the pre-market include the following: Newmont Mining, Yahoo, Microsoft, Alcoa, Wells Fargo, Chesapeake Energy, JPMorgan, Seagate Technology, Transocean and Robert Half International.
Earnings on the calendar for Wednesday and Thursday include the following:
AKASTOR, Corus Entertainment, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, DragonWave Inc., Saratoga Investment Corp., Yum! Brands, Inc., BlackRock, Inc., Colabor Group Inc., Delta Air Lines, Inc., First Republic Bank, JPMorgan, ClubCorp Holdings, Inc., Omnicom Group Inc., Peak Resorts, Tata Consultancy, WNS (Holdings) Limited, Cinedigm Corp., Kinder Morgan, Inc., Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., Resources Connection, Inc. and Simulations Plus, Inc.
Tuesday’s Activity
On Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both closed at new highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18347.67 for a gain of 120.74 points or 0.66 percent. The S&P 500 closed at 2152.14 for a gain of 14.98 points or 0.70 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5022.82 for a gain of 34.18 points or 0.69 percent.
Other notable index closes in the U.S. included the small-cap Russell 2000, closing at 1205.85 for a gain of 15.82 points or 1.33 percent; the S&P 600 closing at 740.23 for a gain of 9.70 points or 1.33 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closing at 1543.72 for a gain of 14.59 points or 0.95 percent; the S&P 100 closing at 950.99 for a gain of 5.35 points or 0.57 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1270.73 for a gain of 9.54 points or 0.76 percent; the Russell 1000 closing at 1191.83 for a gain of 8.40 points or 0.71 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 622.60 for a gain of 3.94 points or 0.64 percent.
