U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a mostly higher open for Wall Street Wednesday, buoyed by rising hopes the worst of the global recession will soon be in the rearview mirror, analysts said.
S&P 500 futures rose 1.3 points to 910, while Nasdaq futures were 1.25 points lower at 1,409.50. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 18 points at 8,479.
U.S. stock indexes snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging nearly 2.4%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 23.33, or 2.63%. Gains followed a much stronger-than-expected rise in May U.S. consumer confidence.
"The S&P 500 managed to close above 900 which could be interpreted as a bullish sign," wrote strategists at Lloyds TSB.
Markets will also be taking a close look at April U.S. existing home sales data.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect April existing home sales to rise 2.8% to 4.70 million units after a 3% decline in the prior month. Sales have held in a fairly tight range since November.
"The home data will be the major talking point of the session, as well as the quickly rising oil price which has now jumped to over $63 per barrel," said Ian Griffiths, a dealer at CMC Markets, in a market note.
Ahead of the opening bell, U.S. office-supplies chain Staples Inc. (SPLS 20.39, +1.02, +5.27%) announced that its first-quarter profit declined to $143 million, or 20 cents a share, from $212.3 million, or 30 cents, in the year-earlier period.
Sales including the results of Corporate Express in the quarter ended May 2 rose 19% to $5.82 billion. Excluding integration and restructuring costs tied to Corporate Express, Staples said it would have earned 22 cents a share.
Analysts, on average, estimated Staples to earn 21 cents a share, according to FactSet.
Investors will be keeping a close eye Wednesday on General Motors Corp. (GM 1.44, +0.01, +0.70%) . The company and the United Auto Workers reached an agreement to give the union a smaller equity stake than the company and its employees previously considered, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The new deal, which would give the government a bigger stake than previously contemplated, would allow GM to sweeten the offer under which bondholders could swap $27 billion in unsecured debt for around 10% of equity in the reorganized company, the report said. See full story.
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO 8.83, -0.17, -1.89%) reported after Tuesday's closing bell that it had swung to a second-quarter net loss of $10.1 million, or 13 cents a share, on a sharp drop in video-game sales stemming from a tough comparison.
In the same quarter last year, the company had reported earnings of $98.2 million, or $1.29 a share. Excluding charges related to stock-option expenses and some one-time items, the company said it would have lost $2.9 million, or 4 cents a share, in the recent quarter. Revenue fell 57% to $229.7 million. Analysts were expecting a loss of 13 cents a share on revenue of $218.3 million, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.
Also, Borders Group (BGP 2.57, +0.26, +11.26%) reported its first-quarter loss widened to $86 million, or $1.44 a share adjusted, from a loss of $31.7 million, or 50 cents a share adjusted, in the same quarter last year. The quarterly loss includes $1.17 a share of non-operating charges, the book retailer said.
The dollar was firmer against the yen, rising 0.4% to 95.28 yen. Crude futures were up 62 cents to $63.07 a barrel.
The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell 1 basis point to 3.54%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% and the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5%.
