US futures are up for the second day in a row as guarded optimism returned to the street. Economic data will come hard and fast this morning as investors wait for the release of Google’s earnings report after the close. Dow futures are currently up 46 points to 12,790. Nasdaq and S&P futures are up 16 and 7 points respectively.
Jobless claims jumped from last week to 380k. This continues to show a labor market that while growing is facing severe headwinds. Other data showed a hotter core PPI. Energy prices are to blame for the increase in core PPI.
The start of earnings season has definitely been a stick save for a teetering market. Alcoa’s beat turned the tide of what was looking like a market that could head for a correction rather quickly. All eyes will be on Google after the close today to see how the tech bellwether is faring.
Europe continues to be Europe. The markets there are choppy this morning with banks under pressure. An Italian auction saw 3-year borrowing costs jump slightly. Spanish and Italian 10-year yields are holding steady however.
In Asia, Chinese markets were leading the charge to the upside. A report came out that Chinese bank lending had increased to $160 billion in March.
Oil prices continued to have their fortunes tied to the broader market. Nymex crude futures are up 42 cents to $103 per barrel. OPEC came out with a statement on the high prices essentially blaming speculators for the sharp rise in prices. They maintain that the market is well supplied and that it was fear driving the the price action.
Gold prices are drifting lower this morning thanks to the upbeat mood in the equity markets. Prices are down nearly $7 to 1,655.50 per ounce.
Stocks to watch today include Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE:PCX), Renren Inc. (NYSE:RENN), Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI), Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE:RAD) and Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN).
Patriot Coal Corporation (NYSE:PCX) is up 2.61% in pre market trading today at $5.90. PCX has traded 6 thousand shares in pre market trading and averages about 7.1 million shares a day. PCX shares hit a new 52-week low of $5.42 on Tuesday and are trying to bounce off of that. The company has a market cap of 521.95 million.
Renren Inc. (NYSE:RENN) is up 1.30% in pre market trading at $6.27. RENN has traded 11 thousand shares this morning and trades nearly 10 million shares a day on average. RENN shares have rallied nearly $1 a share in the past week. The company has a market cap of 2.43 billion.
Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) is down 3.77% in pre market trading at $4.08. NOK has traded 724 thousand shares already this morning and trades 34.2 million shares a day on average. NOK shares continue to trade lower after a software glitch overshadows the debut of its Lumia 900 smartphone. The company has a market cap of 15.73 billion.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is up 0.55% this morning at $189.00. AMZN trades nearly 6 million shares a day on average. AMZN shares have been in a downtrend over the past couple of weeks, falling from $205 to less than $190. The company has a market cap of 85.54 billion.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI) is up 0.44% today at $2.26. SIRI has traded 3 thousand shares in pre market trading and trades 54.1 million shares a day on average. SIRI shares are relatively unchanged in the past week of trading. The stock did hit $2.35 earlier in the week, but has since fallen about $0.10 a share. The company has a market cap of 8.45 billion.
Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE:RAD) is up 1.18% in pre market trading at $1.72. RAD has traded 139 thousand shares this morning and trades 10.5 million shares a day on average. Rite Aid posted a fourth quarter loss of $0.18 per share. Excluding a one time charge, Rite Aid lost $0.04 per share in the fourth quarter. Looking ahead the company expects a 2013 loss of $0.13 to $0.31 per share. Analysts are expecting a loss of $0.24 per share. The company has a market cap of 1.53 billion.
Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) is down 1.56% today at $51.81. ILMN has traded 41 thousand shares in pre market trading and trades 3.1 million shares a day on average. Roche continues to pursue Illumina and has offered the company $51 a share. So far Illumina isn’t biting and Roche has said it might go higher. The company has a market cap of 6.43 billion.
About Danny Fisher
