LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Dow Futures pointed
to a moderately higher open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with
futures for the S&P 500 (SNP: ^GSPC – news) and Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI – news) indexes up
0.3, and Nasdaq 100 (Nasdaq: ^NDX – news) futures up 0.4 percent at 0807 GMT.
* Japan (EUREX: FMJP.EX – news) ‘s Nikkei (Osaka: ^N225 – news) share average hit a four-month
closing high on Wednesday after Tokyo’s central bank eased
monetary policy to bolster an economy struggling with sluggish
global demand and fallout from a dispute with China.
* The Bank of Japan’s move, which follows recent monetary
stimulus plans by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European
Central Bank (Other OTC: CBSU.PK – news) , also boosted oil and copper futures.
* European shares rose although gains were capped by
uncertainty over whether Spain would apply for a sovereign
bailout, which the country has to do before the ECB can
intervene in the bond markets to tame government borrowing
costs.
* The U.S. Commerce Dept. releases housing starts and
permits for August at 1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey
forecast a 765,000 annualized rate versus 746,000 in July. A
total of 796,000 permits are expected in August compared with
811,000 in the prior month.
* Existing home sales for August, due at 1400 GMT, were
expected to come in at 4.55 million units on an annualised
basis, versus 4.47 million in July.
* Goldman Sachs Group Inc has named senior trading
executive Harvey Schwartz to replace David Viniar as chief
financial officer, the latest in a series of executive shuffles
as the investment bank prepares for a change in top management.
* Shareholders of News Corp will make their case in
a U.S. court on Wednesday for holding its board responsible for
phone hacking scandals that cost the company a major newspaper
and a deal for full control of the BSkyB (LSE: BSY.L – news) satellite
business.
* Microsoft Corp (NasdaqGS: MSFT – news) raised its dividend by 15 percent
on Tuesday, marking a slowdown in the growth in payouts to
investors after a year marked by a downturn in computer sales
and a large write-off for a failed acquisition.
* Blackstone Group LP is nearing an agreement to buy
home security provider Vivint, according to three people
familiar with the matter, in a deal expected to value the
company at as much as $ 2 billion. An announcement could come as
early as Wednesday, according to a separate source familiar with
the matter.
* Northrop Grumman (Dusseldorf: 957862.DU – news) and AgustaWestland, a unit of
Italy’s Finmeccanica SpA, said on Tuesday they were
joining forces to compete for the new U.S. Air Force Combat
Rescue helicopter and the U.S. Navy’s new “Marine One”
presidential helicopter.
* Software (Frankfurt: SOWN.F – news) designer Adobe reports third-quarter
results, expected to show earnings per share rise to $ 0.58 from
$ 0.55 one year ago. The company also updates investors on the
progress it is making in persuading customers to buy its
software via subscription.
* The Dow Jones industrial average gained 11.54
points, or 0.09 percent, to end at 13,564.64 and the Standard &
Poor’s 500 Index dipped 1.87 points, or 0.13 percent, to
finish at 1,459.32.
* The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 0.87 of a
point, or 0.03 percent, to end at 3,177.80, weighed down by
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD – news) , which tumbled 9.7 percent.
