Posted by
alfredlester on Wednesday, December 29, 2010 8:48:40 AM
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures were slightly higher Wednesday, with the Dow industrials adding to the prior day’s gains, but a scarcity of economic and corporate news to focus on for investors.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index rose 12 points, or 0.1%, to 11,521, while those for the S&P 500 index rose 1.6 points, or 0.1%, to 1,255.70. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 rose 5.5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,231.
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A day featuring a mixed bag of economic data nonetheless carried the blue-chip Dow gauge to a 28-month high Tuesday, up 20.51 points at 11,575.54. The S&P 500 also gained, but the Nasdaq Composite Index fell slightly.
“I suspect the market will make attempts to close at a new high in sluggish trading,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, Inc. He said market participants s will also be watching an auction of 7-year Treasury notes Wednesday.
The government saw weak demand Tuesday from investors for an auction of 5-year notes, which has created a backdrop of bearishness for the $29 billion auction of 7-year notes, though the U.S.’s debt auction Monday went off better. See Bond Report for details on the Monday and Tuesday Treasury sales.
“Low liquidity might take a toll, but juicy yields and a building concession should bring enough buyers,” said analysts at Nomura Securities in emailed comments, who reminded clients that the weak 5-year auction had taken place in a thin-volume market payday advance.
There are no major economic-data reports in focus for Wednesday.
Among stocks expected to attract equity-market attention are Allstate Corp. , which reportedly has sued Bank of America Corp. and its Countrywide Financial unit over a $700 million investment made by the insurer in residential-mortgage-backed securities. See Movers & Shakers.
GM’s riding optimism
Sharon Terlep explains why Wall Street is optimistic about the future of General Motors.
Metals prices are likely to be a focus of the markets after gold futures for February delivery closed up $22.70 at $1,405.60 an ounce Tuesday in the largest one-day gain since early November. Those futures were last up 60 cents to $1,406.20 an ounce.
Copper futures for March delivery fell 1 cent to $4.10 a pound after new highs were seen Tuesday. Record highs for copper were reported Wednesday in London. See Metals Stocks.
Commodities rose as investors sought a hedge to a weaker dollar. The dollar was lower across the board, down 0.2% against the euro at $1.3125 and off 0.1% against the Japanese yen at ¥82.24. Get live currency-exchange rates.
Crude-oil futures for February delivery were off 36 cents at $91.13 a barrel, remaining atop the key $91 level. But futures were unable to reach the two-year high of $91.88 a barrel.
European stocks were generally higher, but London stocks fell with investors returning uninspired after a long holiday break. Some mining stocks keyed on gains among metals.
In Asia, stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai rebounded, led by banks and commodity shares, as investors moved past worries about the weekend rate hike in China.
Indications: U.S. stock-index futures point to Wall St. gains