Chinese hopes buoy advance in stock futures, global stocks
U.S. stock futures swung higher Wednesday, with hopes that China could lead a worldwide economic rebound helping markets bounce off multi-year lows.
S&P 500 futures rose 12.1 points to 701.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 15.5 points to 1,087.50. Dow industrial futures rose 120 points.
U.S. stocks dipped slightly Tuesday to fresh 12-year lows after the rout to start the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37 points for its eleventh loss in 13 sessions. The S&P 500 fell 4 points and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 1 point.
Wednesday's releases feature the ADP's estimate of February employment, and the Institute of Supply Management's non-manufacturing index for February. The Beige Book of economic anecdotes will be released at 2 p.m. by the Fed.
Some overseas data released Wednesday was on the strong side, or at least less weak than before. A Chinese gauge of manufacturing sentiment and a U.K. services sector poll each rose for the third straight month. Both figures were under the 50 no change mark.
"Today's China PMI backs up our view that Chinese GDP growth is more resilient than growth in the rest of the world and that China has to lead the global economy out of recession," said strategists from Credit Suisse. U.S. firms with exposure to the Chinese consumer include Yum Brands and Qualcomm the strategists added.
The Shanghai Composite rallied over 6% -- with that market helped not just by the data but by hopes for further stimulus measures. The National People's Congress in China starts Thursday.
In London, the FTSE 100 climbed 1.6%, driven by metals and oil producers.
Oil futures rose over $1.50 a barrel, and copper futures climbed 1% in electronic action. Weekly energy inventories are due later.
The dollar also rallied vs. the Japanese yen, up over 1% to 99.31 yen.
Of stocks in the spotlight, Google edged 2% lower in pre-open trade after CEO Eric Schmidt said the Internet search giant is "not immune" from the worldwide economic slump. "We may be better positioned from an advertiser perspective," Schmidt said during the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, "but ultimately... the real pain being felt by corporations worldwide will translate to our world."
Palm fell 6% as it said it expects to report third-quarter revenue of $85 million to $90 million, which is short of the current Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $158 million. Palm cited reduced demand for its maturing legacy smart-phone products, the challenging economic environment and later-than-expected shipments of the Treo Pro in the U.S., as reason for its forecast.
Costco Wholesale said its fiscal second-quarter net income dropped 27%.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be testifying about the budget in front of a Senate committee, and two Federal Reserve presidents will speak on the economy.
