(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures edged higher on Wednesday on better-than-expected durable goods order data.
At 8:26 am ET,
Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures advanced 8.7 points to 898.90.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 69 points to 8326.
Nasdaq Composite Index futures gained 9 points to 1433.
A release by
Department of Commerce, orders for durable goods unexpectedly rose 1.8% in May. Economists on average had projected a decline of 0.5%.
According to
Mortgage Bankers Association, seasonally adjusted mortgage applications index, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, rose 6.6 percent to 548.2 in the week ended June 19.
Late on Tuesday,
Oracle Corp. (
NASDAQ: ORCL) announced that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income declined to $1.9 billion, or 38 cents a share, from $2 billion, or 39 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue slipped 5% to $6.9 billion.
Darden Restaurants (
NYSE: DRI) on Tuesday reported that fiscal fourth quarter net income jumped to $123 million, or 87 cents a share, from $101.8 million, or 71 cents a share. Revenue climbed to $1.98 billion from $1.83.
Early on Wednesday,
Monsanto Co. (
NYSE: MON) that its fiscal third-quarter net income slipped to $694 million, or $1.25 a share, from $811 million, or $1.45 a share, in the prior year period. Revenue fell to $3.16 billion from $3.54 billion last year.
Rite Aid Corp. (
NYSE: RAD) said that its first-quarter loss narrowed to $98.5 million, or 11 cents a share, from $162.8 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier. Revenue dropped to $6.53 billion from $6.61 billion.
On the economic front, new home sales data for May is due for the release at 08:30 am ET.
US stocks closed little changed and Dow finished in the red after
Boeing (
NYSE:BA) said that the inaugural flight of its long-delayed 787 Dreamliner will be postponed in order to reinforce a section of the aircraft.
European stocks climbed in afternoon trade. At 12:30 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 6.79 points or 0.16% to 4,236.81. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.83% and 0.82% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 40.71 points or 0.43% to end at 9,590.32. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 353.78 points or 2.02% to 17,892.15.
NYMEX crude oil for August delivery declined as much as $1.18 or 1.7% to $68.06 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
