With no major corporate earnings in the pipeline, the U.S. stock futures posted small gains Friday as investors prepared for the final trading session of 2011. The U.S. market is expected to remain positive today.
Ahead of the real-time trading, the Dow Jones industrial average futures were trading higher by 0.06 percent, or 7 points to 12,224. The Nasdaq Futures were trading higher by 0.19 percent, or 4.25 points to 2,281.50. Standard and Poor's 500 futures were trading higher by 0.21 percent, or 2.70 points, to trade at 1,260.10, today.
Hot Stocks of the Day: MWE, AMR, BP
MarkWest Energy Partners LP (NYSE: MWE) said bank lenders agreed to a $150 million increase in the Denver-based company's senior secured revolving credit facility, bringing total borrowing capacity to $900 million.
AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) will be delisted by the New York Stock Exchange effective before the opening bell on January 5, 2012. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in late November.
BP Plc (NYSE: BP) will end its 13-year alliance with Russian state-owned oil company OAO Rosneft to explore for oil and gas in Sahkalin. The company first formed an exploration alliance with Rosneft in 1998, with an initial license to search for hydrocarbons in Kaigansky-Vasuykansky area granted in 2002.
Global Markets:
The global markets traded in a mixed note today supported by gains in U.S. markets Thursday following data showing a modest improvement in the U.S. employment and housing sectors. In Europe, Germany's DAX was up by 0.21 percent or 12.05 points to trade at 5,860.83. Great Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.43 percent or 23.68 points to 5,543.09. France's CAC40 added 0.18 percent or 5.54 points to 3,133.10.
In the Asian market, China's Shanghai Composite closed higher by 1.19 percent, or 25.86 points to 2,199.42. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.20 percent or 36.47 points to 18,434.39. Japan's Nikkei 225 was up 0.67 percent or 56.46 points to close trading at 8,455.35. India's BSE 30 Sensex lost 0.57 percent or 89.01 points to close at 15,454.92.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil was trading lower by 0.78 percent at $98.87 per barrel. Gold was up 1.84 percent at $1,569.30 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro was trading lower by 0.07 percent against the U.S. dollar, while the British pound was up 0.52 percent against the dollar. The dollar was down 0.30 percent against the Japanese yen.
On Thursday, Wall Street closed on a strong note. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.11 percent or 134.42 points to close at 12,285.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 1.07 percent or 13.37 points to close at 1,263.01. The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. composite index rose 0.92 percent or 23.76 points to close at 2,613.74.