Morning News: J.C. Penney, Staples, GMCR, Yahoo, La-Z-Boy

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Stocks that are expected to trade actively in U.S. markets on Wednesday include: J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB).

Market Level

U.S. DJIA 15967.03 (-0.06%), S&P 500 1787.87 (-0.20%), NASDAQ 3931.55 (-0.44%)

Europe: FTSE 6663.47 (-0.52%), DAX 9166.87 (-0.27%), CAC40 4255.27 (-0.40%)

Asia Pacific: NIKKEI 15076.06 (-0.33%) SHANGHAI 2206.61 (0.62%), HSI 23700.86 (0.17%), ASX 5307.67 (-0.85%), KOSPI 2017.24 (-0.71%).

Commodities: Oil 93.44 (0.11%), NAT GAS 3.612 (1.57%), Gold 1,269.10 (-0.35%), Silver 20.33 (-0.02%), Wheat 650.00 (-0.24%), Corn 416.00 (-0.42%).

Currency: EUR/USD 1.3529 (-0.07%), GBP/USD 1.6151 (0.22%), USD/JPY 99.88 (-0.25%).

10 year Treasury bond: 2.726 (0.015).

Market & Economic Update

U.S. markets may open flat: U.S. markets were uneven on Wednesday awaiting key data on retail sales, housing figures and inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained four points to 15938 while S&P 500 futures were down by 0.10 points to 1785.10. Nasdaq futures were up one point to 3376.50.

European market stable: On Wednesday, European shares were steady in the morning trading. At 0843 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.04% to 1,296.36 points, after losing 0.7% in the previous session as investors became cautious over the global economic outlook and weak corporate results.

Nikkei down, Hang Seng up: Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.3% on Wednesday, closing at 15,076.08 as recent outperformers like banks and non-life insurers pulled back a bit. Investors are also awaiting a number of U.S. data reports to analyze the direction of the Federal Reserve’s policy. The Hang Seng Index ended the day at 23,700.8 up 0.2%. For the first time since March, the exchange pulled even for the year after central bankers expressed confidence on financial reform plans.

Stocks To Watch

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)

For the third quarter, J.C. Penney posted sales of $2.78 billion compared to $2.93 billion last year. Comparable store sales for the company were down 4.8% for the quarter, an improvement of 710 basis points over the second quarter. J.C. Penney reported an operating loss of $401 million for the third quarter.

Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS)

For the third quarter, GAAP earnings per share for Staples came in at $0.34 from continuing operations, well below the consensus estimate of $0.42. Sales came in at $6.1 billion versus analysts’ estimate of $6.18 billion. For the full year, Staples expects sales to decrease in the low single-digits.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ:GMCR)

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Green Mountain Coffee is projected to report earnings of 75 cents a share, a rise from 64 cents per share a year ago. For the fiscal year, analysts are projecting earnings of $3.25 per share on revenues of $4.27 billion. For the quarter, revenue is expected to come in at $963.8 million.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)

Yahoo increased its share-buyback plan by $5 billion and revealed a plan to sell $1 billion in convertible debt in a private placement. In after hours of trading, Yahoo shares were up 2.77% to $35.59.

La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE:LZB)

For the fiscal second-quarter, La-Z-Boy posted strong results and raised its dividend. In after hours of trading, La-Z-Boy shares gained 8.35% to $26.46.

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