By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street looks set for a lower
opening on Wednesday, with U.S. stock futures pointing lower after
strong gains in the previous session. More quarterly results are
due, including those from Boeing Inc. and Dow Chemical Co.
Investors will also watch for data on consumer prices that may
reflect a fall in gas prices, a boon for U.S. households.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) fell 37
points, or 0.2%, to 16,510 and those of the S&P 500 (SPZ4) lost
5.4 points, or 0.3%, to 1,943.30. Nasdaq-100 futures (NDZ4) gave up
6 points, or 0.2%, at 3,965.25.
A pullback for stocks on Wednesday would follow Tuesday's rally
in the Nasdaq Composite(RIXF), which notched its best one-day
advance in more than two years as shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) and
biotech stocks jumped. The S&P 500 (SPX) on Tuesday bounced up
2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 1.3%.
"Perhaps heeding Warren Buffett's timeless advice to 'be greedy
when others are fearful,' more level-headed traders [have] stepped
in," and the Dow has bounced back more than 700 points "from last
week's panic low," wrote Matt Weller, senior technical analyst at
Forex.com, in a note late Tuesday.
"While we maintain some of our longer-term concerns with
equities, the case for a short-term bounce in U.S. stocks is strong
as long as the DJIA stays above last week's panic low at 15,850,"
said Weller.
Data: The September reading of the consumer-price index will be
released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time by the Labor Department.
Economists polled by MarketWatch expect a slight increase of 0.1%,
after the index dropped in August for the first time since the fall
of 2012.
Earnings: Before the bell, Boeing (BA) is expected to report
fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.97 a share, according to a
consensus survey by FactSet.
Dow Chemical (DOW) is expected to post fiscal third-quarter
earnings of 67 cents a share.
Medical devices maker Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) is expected
to report earnings of 20 cents a share for its fiscal third
quarter.
Biotech firm Biogen Idec (BIIB) is expected to report
third-quarter earnings of $3.45 a share.
Xerox Corp. (XRX) is projected to post fiscal third-quarter
earnings of 26 cents a share.
Stocks to watch: Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) shares rose 3.2% ahead of the
open, after the online search provider posted better-than-expected
third-quarter results late Tuesday.
Interdealer broker BGC Partners Inc. (BGCP) plans to make a
hostile bid to buy rival GFI Group Inc. (GFI) for $675 million, The
Wall Street Journal reported, according to people familiar with the
matter.
Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) fell more than 1% in Tuesday's extended
trading session after Daimler AG said it has sold its 4% stake in
the electric car maker founded by Elon Musk.
Other markets: In Asia, Japanese stocks pushed higher, putting
the Nikkei Average up by 2.6%. European stocks ebbed from strong
gains made in the previous session.
Gold futures (GCZ4) fell nearly $4 an ounce and oil futures
(CLZ4) were flat. The dollar (USDJPY) traded slightly lower against
the yen.
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