BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures

15th Jun 2010 11:16

By Barbara Kollmeyer U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday, with attention expected to focus on deal news and data as Wall Street recovers from Moody's downgrade for Greece. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points to 10195, while those for the S&P 500 rose 6.8 points to 1093. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 13 points to 1859.75. U.S. stocks ended lower Monday, with the Dow industrials surrendering more than a 120-point advance after Moody's Investor Service cut Greece's government-bond ratings by four notches to a junk-grade rating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 20.18 points at 10190.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished up 0.36 points at 2,243.96, while the S&P 500 fell to a 0.2% loss overall. A cautious stance came from Joel Kruger, currency strategist with Daily FX, who said "the broad resurgence in risk appetite looks to be facing its first challenge" on Tuesday across many markets. "We would recommend looking to use Monday's lows in some of the major markets to gauge directional bias. Developments over the past several hours have produced a mixed sentiment towards risk, and taking to the sidelines seems to be a logical strategy," he said. U.S. economic data on the calendar includes June Empire State Manufacturing index and the June NAHB home builders' index. Among stocks in focus, News Corp. (NWSA) bid $11.5 billion for the shares it doesn't already own in U.K. satellite television provider British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC (BSY.LN). BSkyB rejected the offer but entered into negotiations. News Corp. also owns MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. Apple Inc. (AAPL) could also be in focus after it unveiled a redesigned, energy-efficient Mac Mini desktop. Meanwhile, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM) is planning a touch-screen smartphone with a slide-out keyboard and is experimenting with a tablet device, people familiar with the company 's plans told The Wall Street Journal. Shares of BP PLC (BP) rose 4% in premarket trade ahead of hearings as well as a televised address from President Barack Obama. Quarterly results from Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) are due ahead of the market open. European markets shook off early losses, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index rising 0.6%. Markets took in stride a sharply disappointing ZEW confidence survey for Germany, with the economic expectations index declining to 28.7 in June from 45.8 in May, against forecasts for a reading of 42.5. "June's drop in German ZEW investor sentiment is another sign that fears about peripheral debt are damaging sentiment towards core euro-zone economies," said Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist with Capital Economics. But Spain remains a focus for many investors. EU officials denied on Monday that they're readying a bailout package for Spain from the euro zone's support mechanism. "Spain continues to be the pivotal country for sentiment and the health of the financial system," said Jim Reid, strategist with Deutsche Bank AG (DB). Asia shares ended modestly higher, with property stocks leading Hong Kong. Crude oil futures were up 63 cents to $75.74 a barrel, while gold futures fell 40 cents to $1,224.10 an ounce. -By Barbara Kollmeyer; 34 91 395 8131; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 06:16 ET (10:16 GMT)