MW: U.S. stocks: Futures up ahead of retail sales data
Two Fed officials to speak; Deere, Macy’s to report
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures swung higher Wednesday before the release of monthly retail sales data and remarks by two Federal Reserve officials.
Investors will also get a look at quarterly results from retailer Macy’s Inc. and heavy equipment maker Deere &. Co.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU4 +0.31% climbed 68 points, or 0.4%, to 16,587, while those for the S&P 500 index SPU4 +0.44% rose 9 points, or 0.4%, to 1,940. The Nasdaq 100 index NDU4 +0.55% gained 18.50 points, or 0.4%, to 3,920.25.
Wall Street futures found some support from anticipation of recovery in China in the final quarter of the year, said João Monteiro of Valutrades in a note, “despite the fact that the geopolitical situation remains tense and there’s still the prospect of a dangerous stand-off at the Ukrainian border when [an] aid convoy arrives from Moscow.”
Investors will assess retail-sales data when they are released at 8.30 a.m. Eastern Time. Analysts polled by MarketWatch expect growth of 0.2% in overall sales in July, aided by large retail chains. Sales rose 0.2% in June. Excluding autos, sales likely rose 0.4%.
Also set for monitoring will be remarks by New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren at a conference on wholesale funding in New York. They were slated to begin speaking at 9:05 a.m. and 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time, respectively. Rosengren is considered one of the central bank’s most dovish members.
A report on inventories at U.S. businesses in June is due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, and economists expect a rise of 0.3%. Inventories rose 0.5% in May.
Stocks to watch
Before market open, Deere DE -0.84% posted earnings of $2.33 per share for its fiscal third quarter, beating FactSet consensus expectations of $2.20 a share. Sales were $9.5 billion, compared with estimates of $8.71 billion. Shares slipped 0.8% in premarket trade.
Also reporting before the bell, Macy’s M -0.45% is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 86 cents a share.
Premarket shares of King Digital Entertainment KING -22.14% sank 22% after the “Candy Crush” game maker posted disappointing second-quarter sales late Tuesday and cut its full-year outlook. Earnings met analysts expectations.
American Apparel Inc. APP -6.40% shares may move after the embattled clothes maker late Tuesday said it would miss the filing deadline for its second-quarter financial statements. The company did provided preliminary results showing it lost about $15 million, or 9 cents a share, on about $162 million in sales.
Fossil Group FOSL -2.33% shares fell late Tuesday after a disappointing forecast from the watch maker and may see more weakness premarket.
Networking-gear maker Cisco Systems CSCO +0.28% will release results after the close of Wednesday’s trading session.
Elsewhere, oil futures CLU4 -0.15% were down 2 cents, and gold futures GCZ4 -0.09% picked up 40 cents an ounce. Asian markets overnight closed higher, with Hong Kong Hang Seng HK:HSI +0.81% climbing 0.8%. In the U.K., the pound GBPUSD -0.62% dropped sharply against the U.S. dollar as prospects for an interest-rate hike dimmed.
Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in London. Follow her on Twitter @MWMozee.