U.S. stocks: Futures climb on Ukraine peace progress
MARKETWATCH 7:25 AM ET 09/03/14
Symbol Last Price Change TOL 35.63up 0 (0%) CNQR 100.95up 0 (0%) QUOTES AS OF 04:00:09 PM ET 09/02/2014
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures moved firmly higher on Wednesday after Kiev said Russia has agreed on a " cease-fire regime" in eastern Ukraine and as investors awaited data on U.S. car sales and factory orders.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) gained 75 points, or 0.4%, to 17,128, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) added 8.40 points, or 0.4%, to 2008.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NDU4) rose 17 points or 0.4%, to 4,109.00.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko initially said he had agreed on a permanent cease-fire in the Donbas region with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. However, a Kremlin official later said Moscow had not agreed on a truce, but instead had discussed the peace process. Russia cannot negotiate a cease-fire "because it is not a party to the conflict," the official said.
Later in the morning, Poroshenko modified the earlier statement and said the conversation "resulted in an agreement on cease-fire regime in the Donbas."
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks mostly pulled lower, partly ignoring a solid reading on U.S. manufacturing, which indicated the country's factories are in good shape.
Data: On the economic front, car sales data will be filtering in throughout the day. At 10 a.m. Eastern Time, manufacturers' shipments, inventories and orders for July are set for release. The Fed Beige Book is due out at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. These all serve as a prelude to the key nonfarm-payrolls report on Friday.
Earnings: Toll Brothers Inc.(TOL) said fiscal third-quarter earnings jumped 110% to $97.7 million, or 53 cents a share, sending the stock up 1.6% ahead of the open.
Movers and shakers: Shares of Concur Technologies Inc.(CNQR) surged 12% in premarket trade after Bloomberg late Tuesday said the software firm is considering a sale of the company and has approached potential buyers. A representative for Concur wasn't immediately available to comment.
Other markets: European stock markets rallied on the Ukraine-Russia cease-fire news, and only trimmed gains slightly when Putin's office played down the agreement. The German DAX 30 index , which is sensitive to news from Russia due to Germany's close economic ties with the country, jumped 1.3% to 9,631.71.
Russian stocks , and the ruble (USDRUB) were also sharply higher.
In other currencies, the dollar (DXY) declined against most major currencies and slipped back from a one-year against the euro (USDEUR).
Oil prices(CLV4) traded higher, while metals were mixed.
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