U.S. Market Futures Pointing Higher for Further Gains

U.S. stock futures are pointing higher in pre-market trading for Wednesday, July 20. The Dow Futures are at 18546.0 for a gain of 66.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are higher at 2165.75 for a gain of 7.00 points. The Nasdaq Futures are higher at 4621.5 for a gain of 15.00 points. The Russell Futures are higher at 1204.3 for a gain of 5.30 points.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is lower at 16681.89 for a loss of -41.42 points or -0.25 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is higher at 21882.48 for a gain of 209.28 points or 0.97 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite is lower at 3027.90 for a loss of -8.70 points or -0.29 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex is higher at 27915.89 for a gain of 128.27 points or 0.46 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is higher at 6718.61 for a gain of 21.24 points or 0.32 percent. Germany’s DAX is higher at 10122.80 for a gain of 141.56 or 1.42 percent. France’s CAC 40 is higher at 4378.38 for a gain of 48.25 points or 1.11 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is higher at 340.10 for a gain of 2.78 points or 0.82 percent.

Wednesday’s Factors and Events

The economic calendar is light on Wednesday. The day’s reports include MBA Mortgage Applications and the EIA Petroleum Status Report. The Mortgage Applications Report was released at 7:00 AM and showed mortgage applications down slightly at -1.3 percent. The Refinancing Index was also lower, down 1 percent.

Stocks trading actively in the pre-market include the following: Microsoft, Cintas, Abbott Laboratories, Carnival, Chesapeake Energy, Union Pacific and Delta Air Lines.

Approximately 75 publicly traded companies will report earnings on Wednesday. Earnings reports from the Dow Jones Industrial Average include American Express and Intel. The focus for the day’s trading will continue to be on earnings and the earnings outlook. The second quarter outlook is expected to be better than the first quarter overall however substantial improvements are not expected until the third and fourth quarters.

Tuesday’s Activity

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new high at 18559.01. The Dow gained 25.96 points for an increase of 0.14 percent. The S&P 500 was lower for the day at 2163.78 for a loss of -3.11 points or -0.14 percent. The Nasdaq was lower at 5036.37 for a loss of -19.41 points or -0.38 percent.

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Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Other notable index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000, lower at 1200.04 for a loss of -7.87 points or -0.65 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closing lower at 736.77 for a loss of -4.54 points or -0.61 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1541.64 for a loss of -3.43 points or -0.22 percent; the S&P 100 Index at 958.05 for a loss of -0.66 points or -0.07 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1275.46 for a loss of -2.85 points or -0.22 percent; and the DJ U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 623.40 for a loss of -1.41 points or -0.23 percent.