U.S. stock futures point higher, Monsanto gains; Dow futures add 0.5%
Investing.com
Published Apr 06, 2011 08:44AM ET
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed a gain of 0.5%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.6%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.75%.
On Tuesday, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s March policy meeting indicated that policymakers believed the U.S. economic recovery was gaining momentum and could warrant a move toward less accommodative monetary policy this year.
Shares in agribusiness giant Monsanto jumped 2% in pre-market trade after it said second quarter profit rose by 11% to USD1 billion. Revenue in the quarter increased by 5.8% to USD4.13 billion, boosted by strong sales of seed and agricultural equipment.
Shares in metal producers performed strongly after gold prices rallied to an all-time high, while silver prices rose to a 31-year peak. Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold saw shares climb 2.1%, Barrick Gold added 1.2%, while Newmont Mining saw shares gain 1.5%.
Meanwhile, the largest U.S. home-appliance retailer Bed, Bath & Beyond saw shares climb 1% as investors positioned themselves in the stock ahead the company’s fourth quarter earnings report due later in the day.
However, shares in renewable technology firm American Superconductor plunged 46.1% after the company projected a loss for the current quarter and cut its full-year earnings outlook.
Other stocks in focus included satellite television provider Dish Network, which won a bid for Blockbuster in a bankruptcy court auction for nearly USD320 million.
Also Wednesday, shares in Google could be active after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it was considering opening an antitrust investigation into the search-engine giant’s dominance of the Web-search industry.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were up as shares in miners led gains. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.65%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.05% higher, Germany's DAX gained 0.6%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.68%.
During the Asian trading session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.32% lower amid ongoing concerns over the country’s nuclear crisis.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on crude oil inventories.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Investing.com
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.