US Stock Futures Gain Ahead Of Housing, Industrial Production Data
05/16 07:56 AM
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--Stock futures edge up ahead of housing, industrial production data
--Europe down but off lows; Germany determined to keep Greece in euro zone
--Data on housing starts and industrial production, Fed minutes on tap
By Tomi Kilgore
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday morning, on the back of a bounce in European markets, but concerns about the outlook for Greece kept investors cautious ahead of housing market and industrial production data.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 31 points, or 0.2%, to 12636. The Dow fell 63 points, or 0.5%, on Tuesday to close at a four-month low.
Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures gained 4 points, or 0.3%, to 1332 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 8 points, or 0.3%, to 2586. Changes in stock futures do not always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.
Data on housing starts and building permits in April are due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires is for starts to rise to 685,000 and for permits to decline to 730,000.
At 9:15 a.m. EDT, data is expected to show industrial production rising 0.6% in April and capacity utilization increasing to 79%.
The minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy setting committee meeting in April will be released at 2 p.m. EDT.
European markets were well off their worst levels but remained mostly lower as concerns about Greece's future in the euro zone escalated following the country's failure to form a new coalition government. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.5%, but had been down as much as 1.4% earlier in the session.
With Greece in political limbo until new elections next month, the country's future in the euro zone was becoming increasingly uncertain. In a sign of rising anxiety among Greeks, depositors withdrew EUR700 million from local banks on Monday.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to soothe investor fears by saying in an interview on CNBC that Germany was determined to keep Greece in the euro zone.
Asian markets were sharply lower on worries about Greece, with the China's Shanghai Composite sliding 1.2% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average shedding 1.1%.
Crude oil futures gave up 0.8% to $92.66 a barrel, while gold futures fell 1.3% to $1,536.10 an ounce. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and the yen.
In corporate news, shares of J.C. Penney slumped 13% in premarket trading after the department store chain reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and revenue that missed estimates, according to FactSet Research, and said it will discontinue its quarterly dividend of 20 cents a share.
Target climbed 2% after the discount retailer reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings, and provided a second-quarter earnings outlook that was above current projections.
Deere & Co. rose 1.2% after the maker of farm tractors and combines reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded forecasts and boosted its full-year net income outlook.
Abercrombie & Fitch declined 7.1% after the apparel retailer reported fiscal first-quarter revenue that missed estimates, citing challenging sales trends in Europe, and provided a downbeat sales outlook for the year.
Arena Pharmaceuticals slumped 7.9% after the biopharmaceutical company said it is planning a public offering of common stock.
OraSure Technologies surged 34% after the company said a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee recommended approval of the company's in-home HIV test.
-By Tomi Kilgore, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2470; tomi.kilgore@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-16-120756ET
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