By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Greece also lifts sentiment
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street was poised for another
positive session on Wednesday, with futures nudging higher ahead of
a raft of economic data and the release of minutes from the Federal
Reserve's January meeting.
Hopes that Greece will reach a debt deal with its international
creditors also helped lift sentiment.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH5) added 17
points, or 0.1%, to 18,017, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPH5) climbed 0.90 point to 2,096.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100
index (NDH5) put on 4.75 points, or 0.1%, to 4,386.50.
The gains follow slightly positive session on Tuesday, when
reports that Greece may ask for a six-month loan extension helped
boost sentiment. The request is expected on Wednesday, and the
conditions of such an agreement are reportedly under negotiation.
Germany has already said it won't accept a mere loan agreement
without a formal extension of Greece's current bailout program,
including the strict austerity conditions attached. The Global X
FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK) dropped 3.8% ahead of the bell.
Data: Kicking off an action-packed data day, the producer-price
index and housing-starts data come out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern
Time.
Economists polled by MarketWatch expect producer prices to have
dropped 0.5% in January month-on-month, down from a 0.3% fall in
December. For housing starts, estimates are for 1.07 million in
January, up slightly from 1.06 million the prior month.
At 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time, industrial production is forecast to
show a 0.4% improvement in January, after a 0.1% drop in December.
Capacity utilization comes out at the same time, expected to have
risen to 79.9% in January, from 79.7% the previous month, according
to MarketWatch estimates.
FOMC minutes: The minutes from the Federal Open Market
Committee's meeting on Jan. 27-28 are due at 2 p.m. Eastern, in the
middle of the U.S. trading day. At the meeting, Federal Reserve
policy makers told investors they would be "patient" about hiking
short-term interest rates, and market participants will scrutinize
the minutes to see whether any of the top Fed officials actually
wanted to drop that phraseology.
Earnings: Before the opening bell, several companies report:
DISH Network Corp.(DISH) is expected to post quarterly earnings of
43 cents a share, according to a FactSet survey of analysts.
Virgin America Inc.(VA) is seen reporting quarterly per-share
profit of 79 cents.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.(HLT) is forecast to report
quarterly earnings of 18 cents a share.
As for companies reporting after the markets close, SolarCity
Corp.(SCTY) is expected to post a quarterly loss of $1.27 a
share.
Marathon Oil Corp.(MRO) is seen delivering quarterly earnings of
4 cents a share.
Marriott International Inc.(MAR) is forecast to report quarterly
profit of 65 cents a share.
Movers and shakers: Varonis Systems Inc.(VRNS) jumped 11% ahead
of the bell after the IT company late Tuesday reported a 36% rise
in full-year revenues.
Rackspace Hosting Inc.(RAX) fell 2.8% in premarket action after
the cloud-computing company late Tuesday posted a sharp increase in
profit, but predicted first-quarter revenue will be below Wall
Street estimates.
Other markets: European stock markets moved firmly higher,
boosted by optimism that the Greek debt drama could soon come to an
end. Asian markets also got a lift from Greece and closed with
gains.
Crude-oil prices (CLH5) fell more than 1%, while metals prices
were mostly lower as well. The dollar (DXY) rose against most other
major currencies.
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