BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Mixed; Google Up On China News

9th Jul 2010 12:45

By Steve Goldstein U.S. stock futures were in tight range Friday after a strong week, as traders position portfolios ahead of the release of second-quarter earnings. Google rose in premarket trade after the Internet search giant renewed its Chinese license. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5 points. S&P 500 futures were up 0.9 point to 1067.90 while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.25 point to 1798.25. U.S. stocks gained ground Thursday, helped by a mixed set of sales reports in the retail sector, a bigger drop in weekly jobless claims than anticipated, as well as optimism from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and the International Monetary Fund on the economy. The S&P 500 has climbed 4.7% this week, including a 0.9% advance on Thursday. "Overall, it would probably not be a surprise to see some profit taking on Friday, the question is whether the markets are moving toward a possible reversal already," said analysts at Charles Gawlak & Associates. There's little on the economic calendar save for wholesale inventories figures in May, due for release at 10 a.m., EDT. Overseas, Korea made a surprise rate hike and data showed Canada creating more jobs than anticipated in June. Earnings season kicks off Monday night when Alcoa Inc. (AA) reports results. A report earlier this week from U.S. bank State Street Corp. (STT) helped boost enthusiasm for earnings. Still, whatever hopes there are for earnings season are set against a backdrop of concern over the economy. Rob Carnell, chief international economist at ING, noted that Google searches for "double dip" have taken off, while those for "hyperinflation" have edged lower. "One result in markets has been a decoupling of the dollar from equity markets, another has been persistent sub-3% yields on 10-year Treasuries," said Carnell. On Friday, yields on 10-year Treasury notes climbed 6 basis points to get back over the 3% mark, to 3.05%, while the dollar index held around the 84 mark. On a less serious note, the only two times a first-time World Cup winner won on foreign soil, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 44% in 1954 and rose 34% in 1958, notes Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities in London. A first-time World Cup winner on foreign soil is guaranteed since either Spain or Holland will take home the soccer title in South Africa on Sunday. Of companies in the spotlight, Google Inc. (GOOG) climbed 3.3% and Baidu Inc. (BIDU) dropped 7.2% as the U.S.-based search provider said it's renewed its Chinese license. Google had earlier said it may withdraw from China. Airgas Inc. (ARG) may be active after Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) lifted its bid for the company to $63.50 a share in cash, which nonetheless is lower than Thursday's closing price of $63.87. Madison Square Garden Inc. (MSG) will be in the spotlight as basketball star LeBron James late Thursday confirmed reports that he will join the Miami Heat, rather than the MSG-owned New York Knicks. GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) slipped 2% as the European Medicines Agency said it will review the rosiglitazone-containing anti-diabetes medicines Avandia, Avandamet and Avaglim, to determine whether new data on the risk of cardiovascular problems have an impact on their benefit-risk profile. Overseas, Asian stocks enjoyed a strong session, with the Shanghai Composite up 2.3%, while European gains were more muted, with the Stoxx Europe 600 rising 0.3%. Gold futures added over $2 to $1,198.50 an ounce. -By Steve Goldstein; 44 2078 429 424; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 09, 2010 07:45 ET (11:45 GMT)