(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures advanced on Friday ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and data from the housing market.
At 8:32 am ET, the S&P 500 futures remained unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 2 points to 9274. The Nasdaq Composite futures remained unchanged.
The J. M. Smucker Co. (NYSE:
SJM) on Friday said early friday that fiscal first-quarter net income rose to $98.1 million, or 83 cents a share, from $42.3 million, or 77 cents a share ,in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped 58 percent to $1.05 billion.
Women's clothing retailer Ann Taylor Stores Corp. (NYSE:
ANN) said Friday that it swung to a fiscal second-quarter loss of $18 million, or 32 cents a share, from a profit of $29.3 million, or 50 cents a share,in the comparable quarter last year. Revenue dropped to $470.2 million from $592.3 million.
Late on Thursday, casual clothing retailer Gap Inc. (NYSE:
GPS) reported that its second-quarter profits dropped 0.4% to $228 million, or 33 cents a share, down from $229 million, or 32 cents a share, in the year earlier quarter.The company had earlier reported net sales declined 7.3% to $3.24 billion as same-store sales dropped 8%.
Business software maker Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:
ORCL) said Thursday that it has received the Justice Department's approval to go ahead with its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc (NASDAQ:
JAVA). The deal was agreed by the two in April this year, but still needs approval from the European Commission before it can be concluded.
The popular U.S. government "cash-for-clunkers" program, offering rebates of up to $4,500 to car buyers trading in older, fuel-guzzling vehicles, will end on Monday, the Transportation Department said late on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to deliver the keynote speech at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
US stocks finished higher on Thursday after newly appointed AIG CEO Robert Benmosche that he expects that the insurer will be able to pay back the government.
On the economic front, existing home sales data is due for release at 10:00 am ET. Economists currently expect a reading of 5.0 million.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 12:44 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 51.92 points or 1.09% to 4,808.50. The German DAX and French CAC increased 1.66% and 1.56% respectively.
Asian stocks finished down. The Nikkei 225 fell 145.21 points or 1.40% to 10,238.20. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong dropped 129.84 points or 0.64% to 20,199.02.
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery declined as much as 97 cents, or 1.3% to $73.88 in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
