Pre-market trading is being buoyed by a Bernanke speech in which he suggested that more economic stimulus could create better labor conditions. He did raise concerns over whether the current pace of the labor recovery could be maintained in the face of weak demand, both domestically and internationally. Dow futures are currently up 78 points to 13,109. Nasdaq 100 futures are adding 19 points to 2,748. S&P 500 futures are rounding out the morning’s pre-market gains, up 8.75 to 1,402.75.
On the economic calendar, pending home sales are slated to be released at 10am EST. This will be another gauge as to if the housing market is actually recovering. Other news is the ongoing Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke’s speech which began at 8am EST.
Overseas, Asian markets traded mostly flat. Europe on the whole traded higher. The outlier there was Spain which is taking a loss thanks to some election news. The ruling party won a regional election but failed to secure an outright majority. This may make instituting needed reforms difficult. Spain is suffering from crippling unemployment and a growing sovereign debt issue.
Commodities are following the broader market higher this morning. Gold prices are up over $15 to $1,677 per ounce. Gold bulls seem the be encouraged every time Bernanke utters the word stimulus.
Oil prices are also higher this morning. Nymex crude futures are up 32 cents to over $107 per barrel. The energy prices will start to weigh on the market when consumer confidence numbers are released tomorrow.
Stocks to watch today include Vivus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS), Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA), Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI), Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHTP), Affymax, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFY), BroadVision, Inc. (NASDAQ:BVSN) and KIT digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:KITD).
Vivus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) is up 2.44% in pre market trading at $21.83. Vivus announced this morning acceptance of Avanafil application in Europe. VVUS trades 5.9 million shares a day on average. VVUS has traded in a range of $20 to $22 for the past month now after rallying from $12 in late February. The company has a market cap of 1.90 billion.
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARNA) is up 10.79% in pre market trading at $2.67. ARNA has traded 66 thousand shares already this morning and trades 4.7 million shares a day on average. Arena Pharmaceuticals announced this morning the acceptance of Lorcaserin marketing authorization application for weight control by the European Medicines Agency. The company has a market cap of 434.82 million.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is up 0.44% in pre market trading at $2.27. SIRI has traded 14 thousand shares this morning and trades 51.8 million shares a day on average. SIRI has been trading flat lately after hitting a high this year of over $2.30 a few weeks ago. The company has a market cap of 8.49 billion.
Chelsea Therapeutics International (NASDAQ:CHTP) is up 4.42% in pre market trading at $3.78. CHTP trades just over 2 million shares a day on average. CHTP shares jumped about $0.30 on Friday after trading as low $3.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of 242.68 million.
Affymax, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFY) is up 3.87% in pre market trading at $13.94. AFFY has traded 8 thousand shares this morning and trades 1.1 million shares a day on average. Over the past month, Affymax shares have jumped more than $3 a share. The company has a market cap of 480.06 million.
BroadVision, Inc. (NASDAQ:BVSN) is down 3.41% in pre market trading at $32.00. BVSN trades 561 thousand shares a day on average and trades 666 thousand shares a day on average. BVSN shares are down more than $10 a share in the past week. The company has a market cap of 152.30 million.
KIT digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:KITD) is up 3.00% in pre market trading at $6.52. KITD trades just over a million shares a day on average. KITD shares dove $1.50 a share on Friday after 4 directors quit. The company has a market cap of 293.34 million.
About Martin Stephenson
