Dow: Triple-digit rally after rout Wall Street advances as the Dow and S&P 500 bounce off the previous session's nearly 12-year lows. By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: February 24, 2009: 5:50 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks bounced Tuesday, a day after falling to nearly 12-year lows, after comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that downplayed bank takeover fears helped to spark a big rally.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 236 points, or 3.3%, its best day on a point basis in over a month. The Dow ended Tuesday's session at the lowest point since May 7, 1997.
The S&P 500 (SPX) index rose almost 30 points, or 4%, after ending the previous session at the lowest point since April 11, 1997.
The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 54 points, or 3.9%, after ending the previous session at a 3-month low. The Nasdaq has held up better than the broader market this year.
Gains covered a variety of sectors, with banks, housing, retail, technology and energy all among the big gainers.
Stocks tumbled Monday, and for the last few weeks, on worries that not even the many government stimulus programs and aid packages will be sufficient to slow the recession. The declines left the Dow and S&P 500 at almost 12-year lows.
"The market lost around 10% in two weeks, which is a very quick plunge, so it's not a surprise to see an oversold bounce," said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
However, Sparks said that comments from Ben Bernanke were helping to sustain Tuesday's advance, after the Federal Reserve Chairman sought to downplay fears that the government was considering taking over struggling banks.
Investors have been very nervous that banks will have to be nationalized, or that they will have to file for bankruptcy protection, as both options would wipe out all shareholder value.
In light of these fears, investors were responding well to Bernanke's assertion that the banks have a "franchise value" that would be hurt by nationalization, Sparks said.
Investors seemed to set aside the rest of the Fed chair's more dour congressional testimony, including his assertion that the recovery will take more than two or three years. Bernanke spoke before the Senate Banking Committee as part of his two-day semi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, he will address the House Financial Services Committee.
President Obama will address both chambers of Congress Tuesday night, discussing the economy, the $787 billion stimulus package and his goal to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. The speech is due to start at 9 p.m. ET. (Full story).
Trading Wednesday will likely take a cue from what the President says. In addition, investors will focus on the January existing-home sales report, due shortly after the market open. Sales are expected to have risen to a 4.79 million unit rate according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com, from a 4.74 million unit rate in December.
Bear-market rally: Looking out further, there is nothing to suggest a longer-term rally is brewing, said Kenny Landgraf, principal and founder at Kenjol Capital Management.
"What the market has to look forward to right now is a longer recession, weaker earnings and a paralyzed banking system."
Stocks experienced so-called bear market rallies after the market set a short-term bottom in October and again in November. Between the November bottom and early January, the S&P 500 rallied over 20% on hopes that the new administration's programs would speed up the ending of the recession.
Schaeffer's Sparks said that stocks could again advance 15% or 20% off Monday's lows, before giving the gains back again.
Economy: The S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price index plunged 18.2% in the fourth quarter versus a year ago, the biggest quarterly drop in the index's 21-year history. A monthly measure of 20 major metropolitan areas fell 18.55% in December versus a year ago, also a record.
The Conference Board's February Consumer Confidence index plunged to an all-time low, falling to 25 in the month from a revised 37.4 in January. The reading is the lowest since the Conference Board began tracking the index in 1967.
Company news: Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly earnings that beat estimates, providing reassurance that some retailers are weathering the recession. But the home improvement retailer also said it plans to open fewer new stores in 2009 and that profit will fall for the third straight year due to the housing market collapse and the recession. Shares gained 10.5%.
Target (TGT, Fortune 500) reported weaker quarterly earnings that missed analysts' expectations. The retailer has suffered amid the economic downturn, with customers buying staples like food and cleaning supplies and eschewing pricier items like clothing and home decor. Shares fell 2%.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) said late Monday that it's cutting its dividend by 87% to 5 cents per share, a move that it says will save it $5 billion a year. Shares gained 7.7% Tuesday.
Financial stocks were among the session's big gainers, led by Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), which both gained around 21%.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) stock has been rising on reports that it will soon announce a deal with Treasury that would give the government a 40% stake in the bank. The Financial Times said Tuesday that a deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday.
Automakers GM (GM, Fortune 500) and Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) surged, as did large tech stocks Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Cisco Systems (CSCO, Fortune 500) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, Fortune 500).
Market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by over five to one on volume of 1.84 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by almost three to one on volume of 2.40 billion shares.
Bonds: Treasury prices slipped, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.76% from 2.75% Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Other markets: In global trading, Asian and European markets ended lower.
In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and gained against the yen.
U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose $1.52 to settle at $39.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
COMEX gold for April delivery fell $24.50 to settle at $970.50 an ounce.
Yahoo! Finance
4:25 pm : The stock market snapped a six-session losing streak by rallying 4.0% Tuesday. The rebound was helped by short covering after the stock market registered a multiyear closing low in the prior session.
Though Monday marked the S&P 500's lowest closing level since 1997, the stock market was still able to hold above its November intraday low of 741. Meanwhile, financials, which have underpinned the market's recent weakness, have refused to completely roll over after slipping to multiyear lows late last week. Heading into Tuesday, financials were trading 5% above those lows.
Given the crowded betting against the financial stocks, the inability to fall to new lows added pressure on short sellers to cover their bets, helping drive the financial sector 11.8% higher. This helped drive the broader market to its best single-session percentage gain in one month.
The advance in financials was undeterred by word JPMorgan Chase (JPM 21.02, +1.51) is cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.38 per share. The cut aims to help protect the bank's fortress balance sheet should macro conditions further deteriorate.
JPMorgan indicated during its conference call that its trading business has been strong this quarter. The statement encouraged buying in Goldman Sachs (GS 92.98, +12.91), which traded with leadership.
Today's rally comes ahead of President Obama's national address this evening, and follows Fed Chairman Bernanke's semiannual testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, which did not provide any further detail regarding government plans to shore up the banking system.
Bernanke noted that measures have helped restore a degree of stability to some financial markets, but significant stresses persist in many markets. Bernanke indicated the outlook for economic activity is uncertain and downside risks probably outweigh those to the upside. He also stated the recession may end in 2009 and the economy may recover in 2010.
Bernanke will testify before the House Committee on Financial Services (10:00 AM ET).
Word that Microsoft (MSFT 17.17, -0.04) may still be interested in a deal with Yahoo! (YHOO 12.75, +0.78) caught investors' attention this morning. Still, the idea of a stronger Internet search company did little to undercut shares of Google (GOOG 345.45, +15.39), which traded with leadership in the Nasdaq.
The latest batch of earnings announcements was generally better than expected, though, it didn't attract much attention by the broader market. HJ Heinz (HNZ 33.77, +1.80) posted an upside surprise, as did Macy's (M 8.25, +0.85), Nordstrom (JWN 13.69, +2.36), and Home Depot (HD 20.69, +1.96). Target (TGT 27.83, -0.60) posted disappointing results, but retailers still logged a 4.6% gain.
The gain by retailers came even though the Conference Board indicated consumer confidence fell to a record low in February.DJ30 +236.16 NASDAQ +54.11 NQ100 +3.8% R2K +4.5% SP400 +4.5% SP500 +29.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2028/2.15 bln/703 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2676/1.84 bln/438
3:30 pm : April crude oil futures opened lower amid continued demand concerns stemming from a disappointing Consumer Confidence report. The futures contracts traded as low as $37.65 per barrel. Figures showing stronger-than-expected OPEC compliance with their production cuts then sparked a rally in crude oil. The contracts rallied to finish at $39.90 per barrel, up 3.8%.
March natural gas also displayed intial weakness, then ticked higher midway through the session to finish at $4.22 per contract, up 3.0%.
April gold futures experienced selling pressure throughout the session. April gold contracts hit session lows of $960.20 per ounce and closed at $969.50 per ounce, down 2.6%.
March silver also finished the session lower, down 0.4% to $14.00 per ounce. March silver hit session lows of $13.68 per ounce before recovering somewhat to the $14.00 level. DJ30 +241.73 NASDAQ +52.65 SP500 +29.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2024/1.90 bln/692 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2651/1.28 bln/462
3:00 pm : Microsoft (MSFT 17.01, -0.20) is the only Dow component to trade with a loss. Its weakness follows word that the company may still be interested in striking a deal with Internet search company Yahoo! (YHOO 12.69, +0.72). Shares of YHOO are logging their best single-session advance by percent in nearly one month.
Meanwhile, the rest of the stock market continues to climb higher in a broad-based effort.
Despite the rally in the stock market, bonds are refusing to go on a collective retreat. The 10-year Note is down 12 ticks, which has pushed its yield up to 2.80%. Meanwhile, the 30-year Bond is trading 6 ticks higher, which has pushed its yield down to 3.50%.DJ30 +205.25 NASDAQ +46.77 SP500 +26.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1949/1.70 bln/746 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2550/1.15 bln/546
2:30 pm : The broad-based S&P 500 is leading the way as the major indices build on earlier gains.
The advance by the S&P 500 rebounds from the prior session's losses. Weakness in the prior session took the S&P 500 within just a couple of points of its November intraday low. The S&P 500 did manage to set a new multiyear closing low, though.
Still, with November intraday lows unviolated, many short-sellers are covering their positions, which is helping drive buying interest in the broader market.DJ30 +183.31 NASDAQ +42.30 SP500 +24.73 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1933/1.54 bln/742 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2506/1.05 bln/586
2:00 pm : The S&P 500 is now trading 2.9% higher as 90% of its components trade with gains. It was recently up slightly more than 3.0%.
Small-cap stocks and mid-cap stocks are outperforming the broad-market index, though. The Russell 2000 small-cap index and S&P 400 mid-cap index are both up 3.2%.
Financials continue to sport some of the most impressive gains of various market measures. Financials are now up nearly 8.8%.DJ30 +168.14 NASDAQ +34.79 SP500 +21.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1832/1.37 bln/811 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2360/929 mln/706
1:30 pm : Financial stocks have climbed to a gain of 7.0%. The sector's advance comes amid strength in investment banks and brokerages (+10.7%), diversified banks (+7.4%), and other diversified financial services companies (+6.7%).
AIG (AIG 0.41, -0.12) is a laggard in the financial sector. Reports warned in the prior session the company will likely need additional government funding in order to continue operations after it unveils what is expected to be a $60 billion loss next Monday. AIG was already bailed out by the government. DJ30 +144.48 NASDAQ +28.91 SP500 +18.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1762/1.22 bln/866 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2165/819 mln/875
1:00 pm : Action has been rather choppy this session, but the major indices have successfully remained in positive territory for the entire session. The gains follow broad losses in the prior session, during which the Dow and S&P 500 logged their lowest closing levels in more than one decade.
Losses in the prior session came amid ongoing concern in the financial sector. Financials are leading gains this session as the sector posts a 3.4% gain. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 19.62, +0.11) is trading with strength even though the company is cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.38 per share. The cut will help protect the bank's balance sheet in the event macro conditions deteriorate further.
Ordinarily, such an announcement would fuel concern that even one of the country's strongest banks is in need of shoring up its capital position, but in extraordinary times many analysts are calling the move proactive.
JPMorgan indicated it is seeing a solid performance by its trading group, which has helped propel shares of Goldman Sachs (GS 86.92, +6.85).
Word that Microsoft (MSFT 16.65, -0.56) may still be interested in a deal with Yahoo! (YHOO 12.48, +0.51) caught investors' attention this morning. Still, the idea of a stronger Internet search company did little to undercut shares of Google (GOOG 336.18, +6.12), which is providing leadership to the Nasdaq.
The latest string of earnings announcements was generally better than expected, or more appropriately, better than feared.
Macy's (M 8.05, +0.65), Nordstrom (JWN 12.82, +1.49), and Home Depot (HD 20.25, +1.54) all gave investors positive earnings surprises. Retailers' results weren't entirely positive, though. Target (TGT 27.59, -0.84) announced earnings results that failed to meet analysts' expectations. Still, retailers, as a group, are outperforming the broader market as they trade with a 2.5% gain.
Fed Chairman Bernanke continues to entertain questions from the Senate Banking Committee after providing his semiannual testimony. The testimony continues to dominate financial news coverage.
Bernanke noted in his prepared remarks that measures taken by the Federal Reserve, other U.S. government entities, and foreign governments have helped restore a degree of stability to some financial markets. However, despite a range of lower borrowing costs, significant stresses persist in many markets.
Bernanke reminded the committee of Treasury's plans to help assist banks with a mix of public and private investments, while the size and scope of the TALF is expanded. Bernanke did not offer any additional detail on plans to help restore the banking system, but did reiterate the longer-term goals of market policymakers.DJ30 +86.74 NASDAQ +16.94 SP500 +10.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1649/1.06 bln/967 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1910/719 mln/1107
12:30 pm : The major indices have steadily pared their gains. The descent has pushed the materials sector into the red, where it now trades with a 0.1% loss.
The materials sector is the only sector to trade with a loss. Newmont Mining (NEM 40.30, -2.09) is a primary laggard in the sector. The company's decline comes amid a 3.0% slide in gold prices. Gold was recently trading hands at $965.00 per ounce. DJ30 +64.20 NASDAQ +16.93 SP500 +8.15 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1575/957 mln/988 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1742/642 mln/1252
12:00 pm : Large-cap tech is helping propel the Nasdaq 100 to a 1.3% gain. The advance comes with support from Internet search titan Google (GOOG 336.46, +6.40). Google's shares are up more than 7% year-to-date, partly benefitting as a result of investors' interest in companies with lean balance sheets and steady operations.
As of the latest quarter, Google had nearly $16 billion in cash and short-term investments, and no long-term debt. Operating cash flow climbed to almost $8 billion during the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, rival Yahoo! (YHOO 12.37, +0.40) is also trading with a solid gain. Its shares received a boost from early reports that Microsoft (MSFT 16.64, -0.57) is still interested in a deal with Yahoo.DJ30 +50.42 NASDAQ +16.38 SP500 +8.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1598/842 mln/943 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1800/573 mln/1194
11:30 am : Macy's (M 7.80, +0.40) announced this morning better-than-expected earnings per share results for the latest quarter. The company has been slashing costs as part of an effort to reduce inventory, which pinches margins, but helps bolster the company's balance sheet partly by replacing slow-moving inventory with cash and receivables.
The move is expected to help margins in the longer-run, though, as supply aligns with demand and pricing pressures ease. Macy's indicated during its conference call it expects margins to improve in the back half of 2009.
Nordstrom (JWN 12.82, +1.49) experienced a drop in margins as a result of competitive pricing pressure during the latest quarter, but the company still posted a positive earnings per share surprise for the latest quarter.
Home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD 20.05, +1.34) also gave investors a positive surprise this morning. The company announced before the opening bell that it had earned an adjusted $0.19 per share during the fourth fiscal quarter. The results topped Wall Street's consensus estimate, which called for $0.15 per share. Home Depot did indicate that it expects slower sales and earnings to continue into 2009, though.
As a group, retailers are trading with a 2.3% gain.DJ30 +64.97 NASDAQ +18.77 SP500 +8.69 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1650/742 mln/855 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1836/505 mln/1131
11:00 am : Stocks recently climbed to their best levels of the session, but have since pulled back a bit. Gains remain broad-based as all 10 sectors in the S&P 500 remain in positive ground.
Energy is having the best performance of any sector. Energy stocks, as a group, are up 2.6%. Exxon Mobil (XOM 70.98, +1.68) is providing energy with the most leadership, as are other integrated oil companies (+2.6%).
Oil equipment and services outfit Schlumberger (SLB 36.84, +1.65) is also trading with handsome gains, leading the oil and gas equipment industry (+3.5%) higher. Shares of SLB are rebounding after hitting a fresh multiyear low in the prior session.
The bounce in energy stocks comes largely without the help of higher oil prices. Crude oil futures contracts are pricing oil just 0.4% higher at $38.60 per barrel. Oil prices are still down 13.5% this year.DJ30 +90.00 NASDAQ +22.51 SP500 +10.94 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1640/589 mln/797 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1839/398 mln/1106
10:30 am : Stocks were recently hit with a wave of selling pressure, but the major indices were able to fight back and reclaim their gains.
According to Fed Chairman Bernanke, the measures taken by the Federal Reserve, other U.S. government entities, and foreign governments since September have helped to restore a degree of stability to some financial markets. In particular, strains in short-term funding markets have eased notably.
Bernanke noted London interbank offered rates (Libor) have decreased sharply. Overnight Libor was recently indicated at 0.27%. One year ago the overnight rate was above 3.0%.
Despite a range of lower borrowing costs, significant stresses persist in many markets, Bernanke indicated.
He also states that most securitization markets remain shut, and some financial institutions remain under pressure. Given ongoing concerns regarding financial institutions, Treasury plans a new capital assistance program to ensure that banks have adequate buffers of capital. Part of the plan includes a public-private investment fund in which private capital will be leveraged with public funds. Additionally, the Federal Reserve, using capital provided by the Treasury, plans to expand the size and scope of the TALF to include securities backed by commercial real estate loans and potentially other types of asset-backed securities. Treasury's plan also includes a range of measures to help prevent unnecessary foreclosures.
Bernanke believes that over time these initiatives should further stabilize financial institutions and markets, improving confidence and helping to restore the flow of credit needed to promote economic recovery.
In January, monetary policymakers substantially marked down their forecasts for real GDP this year, and downside risks probably outweigh those on the upside.
Bernanke indicated the central tendency for longer-run real GDP growth is from 2.50% to 2.75%. The central tendency for the longer-run rate of unemployment is 4.75% to 5.00%. The central tendency for the longer-run rate of inflation is 1.75% to 2.00%. DJ30 +51.53 NASDAQ +16.61 SP500 +6.98 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1528/428 mln/832 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1580/294 mln/1307
10:00 am : Stocks continue to hold their gains. The advance remains broad-based.
Action has been mixed among commodities. The CRB Commodity Index is up a modest 0.2% amid gains in energy prices and declines in precious metals prices.
Crude futures contracts are currently pricing oil 1.0% higher at $38.85 per barrel. Meanwhile, natural gas contracts are trading fractionally higher at $4.12 each.
Contracts for gold are currently pricing the yellow metal at $988.40 per ounce. That reflects a decline of 0.6%, and marks the second straigh session in which gold prices have come under pressure since eclipsing $1,000 per ounce last week.
Silver prices are also down 0.6%. Silver contracts were recently quoting silver at $14.35 per ounce.
09:45 am : Stocks have climbed to a solid gain in the first few minutes of trading. Every major sector in the S&P 500 is trading in the green.
Early strength is being exhibited by the financial sector. Financials are up 2.4% with leadership from JPMorgan Chase (JPM 20.41, +0.90).
JPMorgan announced after the prior session's close that it is cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.38 per share. The drastic cut is expected to help protect the company's balance sheet in the event that economic conditions further deteriorate.
JPMorgan added that it expects to be profitable this year. Analysts expect the same, some even increased their earnings estimates for the company in the wake of the decision to lower its dividend payment.DJ30 +58.30 NASDAQ +20.18 SP500 +8.31 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1567/135 mln/543 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1779/115 mln/946
09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +6.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.80. Stock futures continue to lead fair value, but have pulled back from earlier levels. The premarket gyrations could make it difficult for stocks to gain traction once the opening bell tolls. In turn, market participants will be closely watching to see whether the S&P 500 slips closer to its November intraday low of 741. The S&P 500 already registered its lowest close in more than a decade Monday. There have been several better-than-expected earnings reports this morning. Home Depot (HD), HJ Heinz (HNZ), Nordstrom (JWN), and Macy's (M) all provided positive surprises. Target (TGT) missed expectations. One of the morning's most headline worthy announcements, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is slashing its dividend to protect its balance sheet. The announcement has been treated positively, though, as investors consider the move proactive.
09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.80. Stock futures continue to point toward an upward start. The S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index for December came in at 150.7, which is down from the prior reading of 154.6. The S&P/CaseShiller Composite 20-City Home Price Index for December declined 18.6% after an 18.2% decline in the prior month. The latest reading was expected to show a 18.3% decline. The S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index for the fourth quarter came in at 139.1, which is down from the prior reading of 150.0. Composite prices were down 18.2% in the fourth quarter, exceeding the 17.2% decline that was expected, as well as the 16.5% decline in the prior month.
08:40 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +5.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.30. U.S. markets remain on track for an upward. A higher open would come as an improvement after stocks closed at multiyear lows during the prior session. However, European indices continue to react negatively from the seemingly portentous close in the U.S. Germany's DAX is leading losses by declining 1.6%. Its primary laggards include Allianz (AZ), Volkswagen, and Daimler. France's CAC is off by 0.7%. Axa is a primary laggard, along with financial services outfit BNP Paribas. Though it is not having as profound affect on the French bourse as some others, Societe Generale is also trading with weakness. Britain's FTSE is currently trading with a 1.0% loss. Rio Tinto (RTP) is a primary laggard, along with HSBC (HSB). Despite ongoing weakness in European banking stocks, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is providing some support to the FTSE. This is the second straight advance by RBS; the company company announced during the past weekend plans to restructure operations. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei fell 1.5% to its lowest levels in roughly four months. Reuters reports that the index was hurt by a fall in Nomura Holdings (NMR) and after U.S. stocks slid. Nomura was weakened amid plans to raise $3.3 billion. Comments from Japan's finance minister that the government is studying measures to support the stock market were unable to help the Nikkei find its way into positive ground. Hong Kong's Hang Sang lost 2.9%. Energy stocks fell due to weakening oil prices and financials took a hit. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite closed 4.6% lower, led down by financial shares. The MSCI Asia-Pacific closed with a 1.8% loss.
08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +8.10. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.50. The stock market is on track for a positive start. The uptick in stock futures comes after the S&P 500 registered a new multiyear closing low Monday. The S&P 500 has yet to breach its November intraday low, though. Traders are also digesting news that JPMorgan Chase (JPM) cut its quarterly dividend to $0.05 from $0.38 per share. The move comes to help protect JPMorgan's fortress balance sheet in the event that conditions deteriorate further. JPMorgan indicated it expects to be profitable in fiscal 2009. Shares of JPM are trading more than 6.5% higher at $20.80 per share in premarket action. Home Depot (HD) posted better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter, but expects sales and earnings per share results to decline in 2009. Heinz (HNZ), Macy's (M), and Nordstrom (JWN) all posted upside earnings per share surprises. There are a few anecdotal economic reports due this morning, but none are likely to move the market. The S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Composite Index for December (9:00 AM ET) and consumer confidence (10:00 AM ET) readings are expected later. Meanwhile, plenty attention will be given to Fed Chairman Bernanke's semiannual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee (10:00 AM ET).
06:26 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +9.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.50.
06:26 am : Nikkei...7268.56...-107.60...-1.50%. Hang Seng...12798.52...-376.60...-2.90%.
06:26 am : FTSE...3810.93...-39.80...-1.00%. DAX...3866.04...-70.60...-1.80%.
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