(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures rose on Wednesday as investors await the start of the earnings season.
At 8:14 am ET, the S&P 500 futures climbed 1.10 points to 1049.70. The Dow Jones Industrial average futures rose 16 points to 9670. The Nasdaq Composite futures advanced 1 point to 1701.75.
The third-quarter earnings season will officially kick off with results from Dow component Alcoa (NYSE:
AA) on Wednesday after the bell.
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:
AMZN) on Wednesday slashed the price of its Kindle electronic-book reader by $40 to $259. The company also announced that it will start selling a $279 version of the Kindle that will work in 100 countries and be sold to readers outside the U.S.
Early on Wednesday, Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:
FDO) reported that fourth-quarter earnings were $60 million, or 43 cents a share, compared to $53 million, or 38 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.81 billion from $1.77 billion a year ago. For fiscal 2010, the company expects net sales will increase 5% to 7% and same-store sales to grow 3% to 5%.
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ:
COST) said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit dropped 6% to $374 million, or 85 cents per share, from $398 million, or 90 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue slipped 3 percent to $22.38 billion from $23.1 billion.
Late on Tuesday, Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE:
YUM) said that its third quarter net income rose to $334 million, or 69 cents a share, from $282 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding special items, Yum earned 70 cents a share, up from 58 cents. Revenue decreased to $2.78 billion from $2.84 billion as same-store sales -- those at outlets open at least a year -- fell 6% in the U.S. and 3% worldwide.
On the economic front, consumer credit data is due for release at 14:00 pm.
US stocks rallied on Tuesday as a weak dollar pushed up commodity prices, lifting
shares of oil and mining companies.
European stocks retreated in afternoon trade. At 13:08 pm London time, the UK FTSE lost 21.20 points or 0.41% to 5,116.78. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 0.20% and 0.14% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 107.80 points or 1.11% to 9,799.60. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 430.06 or 2.07% to 21,241.59.
NYMEX crude oil for November delivery climbed as much as 88 cents or 1.2% to $71.76 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
