TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

[microcapzone]

Stocks Point to Higher Open After Rally
Thursday April 26, 7:39 am ET
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer
Stocks Point to Higher Open After Dow Closes Over 13,000 for 1st Time


NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks pointed to a higher opening Thursday, as another batch of strong profit reports from companies including Apple Inc. roused investors to push the Dow Jones industrials further over the 13,000 mark.

The Dow shot past its latest milestone Wednesday after better-than-expected earnings and economic data. The blue-chip index has risen in 18 of the past 20 sessions and picked up more than 780 points over that period of time -- the question on investors' minds now is whether upcoming data will prove the steep climb justified, or overdone.

In premarket trading Thursday, Wall Street was fairly optimistic, notably about tech stocks after Apple Inc. said late Wednesday its profit in the most recent quarter rose 88 percent on robust sales of iPods and Macintosh computers. The results beat analyst estimates, and drove the company's stock in after-hours trading Wednesday above $100 a share for the first time.

Other earnings reports that cheered investors were those of wireless equipment maker Qualcomm Inc., radio and outdoor advertising conglomerate Clear Channel Communications Inc. and automaker Ford Motor Co. -- Ford reported a loss for the first quarter, but it was narrower than anticipated.

Investors will be focusing on more earnings data Thursday, including those of Dow components ExxonMobil Corp. and 3M Co. ExxonMobil is expected to post a profit of $1.51 a share, and 3M is expected to post a profit of $1.12 a share. After the market closes, another Dow component and tech leader Microsoft Corp. will release its financial results.

So far, 19 of the 30 Dow components have reported earnings, and 13 have exceeded expectations.

Ahead of Thursday's market opening, Dow futures expiring in June rose 20.00, or 0.08 percent, to 13,140. The index on Wednesday surged 135 points to close at 13,089.89, its 35th record close since October.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.00, or 0.13 percent, to 1,502.80, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 9.00, or 0.48 percent, to 1,903.00.

In other corporate news, Wendy's International Inc. said late Wednesday it is considering a possible sale of the company, among other options. The burger chain's stock was poised to open sharply higher.

Gold rose, and the dollar rose slightly.

A barrel of light sweet crude fell 42 cents to $65.42 a barrel in electronic premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.12 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.50 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.84 percent, and France's CAC-40 was up 0.34 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com