(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures turned higher on Tuesday after a government release showed that retail sales climbed 2.7% in August.
At 8:22 am ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.20 points to 1043.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 10 point to 9g60. The Nasdaq Composite futures advanced 0.75 points to 1688.75.
According to Department of Commerce, retail sales climbed 2.7% in August. Economists had forecast retail sales to increase 2%.
A release by Department of Labor on Tuesday showed U.S. producer prices rose 1.7% in August while core producer prices declined 0.2% in the month. Economists expected a rise of 0.8% in PPI, and a 0.1% increase in the core PPI.
According to media reports, the U.S. Treasury Department and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:
C) have begun discussing how to sell the 34 percent stake that the government acquired as part of its rescue program.
Early on Tuesday, Best buy (NYSE:
BBY) reported that second quarter net income slipped to $158 million, or 37 cents a share, from $202 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue in the quarter ended Aug. 29 climbed to $11 billion from $9.8 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn 41 cents a share on sales of $10.81 billion. The largest U.S. electronics chain also boosted the bottom end of its full-year forecast to profit excluding items of $2.70 to $3 a share.
The New York Post reported Monday that Kraft Foods (NYSE:
KFT), the world's second largest food company, might sell assets to raise enough cash to finance acquisition of Cadbury (NYSE:
CBY). A formal bid for Cadbury may be launched next week, the report added.
US stocks gained on Monday as investors shrugged off growing trade dispute with China.
On the economic front, business inventories data is due for release at 10:00 am ET.
European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. At 12:18 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 15.86 points or 0.32% to 5,034.71. The German DAX dropped 0.32% while French CAC increased 0.32$.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 rose 15.56 points or 0.15% to 10,217.62.The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong fell 65.83 points or 0.31% to 20,866.37..
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery climbed 0.8% to $69.42 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
