Wall Street is poised to open higher on Friday, shrugging off Spain's credit rating downgrade, after Google Inc. reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and strong consumer spending results were released.
On the economic front, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday U.S. retail sales for September rose 1.1 percent, marking the biggest jump in 7-months, as consumers bought more autos, clothing and home furnishings.
In another report, U.S. import prices rose 0.3 percent in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the past five months, import prices have shown little net change. Export prices increased 0.4 percent in September after advancing 0.5 percent the previous month.
After the opening bell, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumers for October is expected at 9:55 a.m. EST, and data on August inventories is due at 10:00 a.m. EST.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow industrial average futures were trading higher by 0.85 percent, or 97 points, to 11,489. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.81 percent, or 18.75 points, to 2,345. Standard and Poor's 500 futures were trading higher by 0.94 percent, or 11.25 points, to 1,209.25, today.
Hot Stocks of the Day: GOOG, SAP, MAT, AAPL, NAV
Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) late Thursday reported third quarter FY 2011 net income of $2.73 billion, or $8.33 per share, compared with net income of $2.17 billion, or $6.72 per share in the same quarter last year. On adjusted basis, the company reported earnings of $9.72 per share on revenue of $7.51 billion, compared with analysts' estimate of $8.74 per share on revenue of $7.2 billion. GOOG is trading higher by 7.11 percent to $598.76 in pre-market trading on Friday.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) on Friday reported third quarter FY 2011 operating profit of euro 1.76 billion, up from euro 716 million a year ago. Its closely watched software and software-related service revenue, which includes new licenses and maintenance, increase! d 16 per cent to euro 2.69 billion. Total revenue was euro 3.41 billion, an increase of 14 percent. SAP was trading higher by 2.30 percent to $57.45 in pre-market trading today.
Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) reported third quarter FY 2011 net income of $300.8 million, or $0.86 per share, compared with last year's third quarter net income of $283.3 million, or $0.77 per share. Analysts had estimated a net profit of $0.86 per share for the company. During the period, net sales were $2 billion, up 9 percent compared with $1.83 billion last year.
MAT is trading lower by 0.65 percent to $27.60 in the pre-market trading today.Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) could see some movement as its most awaited product, the iPhone 4S, hits stores in the U.S. and 12 other nations on Friday. Shares of Apple were trading higher by 2.14 percent to $417.15 in pre-market trading today.
Shares of Navistar International Corp. (NYSE: NAV) were trading higher by 9.49 percent to $42.35 in pre-market trading today after activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed he has accumulated a 9.8 percent interest in the company.
Global Markets: FTSE, CAC40, DAX, Nikkei 225, Straits Times, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite Index, BSE 30
Asian markets closed mixed today. Singapore's Straits Times closed higher by 0.37 percent, or 10.20 points, to 2,744.17; and India's BSE 30 closed with gains of 1.18 percent, or 198.77 points, to 17,082.69. Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed lower by 1.36 percent, or 256.02 points, to 18,501.79; China's Shanghai Composite closed down by 0.30 percent, or 7.42 points, to $2,431.37; and Japan's Nikkei 225 closed lower by 0.85 percent, or 75.29 points, to 8,747.96.
European indexes were trading higher mid-day Friday. Britain's FTSE 100 was trading higher by 0.79 percent, or 42.61 points, to 5,445.99; Germany's DAX was trading up by 0.62 percent, or 36.54 points, to trade at 5,951.38; and France's CAC40 was trading higher by 0.92 percent, or 29.38 points, to 3,216.32.
Oil rises above ! $85 mark ahead of economic data
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil was trading higher by 1.10 points, or 1.31 percent, to $85.33 per barrel. Gold stood at 1,665.80, down 1.50 points, or 0.09 percent on Friday.
In the currency market, the euro was trading higher by 0.07 percent to 1.3787 against the U.S. dollar. The dollar was trading up at ��77.1425, adding 0.35 percent against the Japanese yen. The British pound is trading higher by 0.11 percent to $1.5778 against the dollar on Friday.
On Thursday, Wall Street closed mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average closed with losses of 0.35 percent, or 40.72 points, to settle at 11,478.13. Standard & Poor's 500 ended lower by 0.30 percent, or 3.59 points, to 1,203.66. Nasdaq ended up by 0.60 percent, or 15.51 points, to 2,620.24.
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