Stocks that are expected to trade actively in the U.S. market on Wednesday include Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB).
Market Level
USA – DJIA 15928.56, (0.57%), S&P 500 1,792.50 (0.61%), NASDAQ 4,097.96 (0.35%)
Europe – FTSE 100 6,632.63 (0.91%), DAX 9,509.48 (1.09%), CAC 40 4,224.54 (0.94%)
Asia – NIKKEI 15383.91 (2.70%), HANG SENG 22141.61 (0.82%), KOSPI 1,941.15 (1.26%) SHANGHAI 2,049.91 (0.56%)
Commodities – Gold 1,253.40 (0.21%), Silver 19.55 (0.27%) OIL 97.05 (-0.37%) CORN 431.25 (-0.17%) WHEAT 564.25 (-0.31%)
Currency – USD/JPY 103.14 (0.18%), GBP/USD 1.6574 (0.03%), EUR/USD 1.3671 (0.02%)
10 year Treasury bond: 2.783 (0.024).
Economic & Market Update
U.S. markets up – U.S. stocks were up on Tuesday owing to better than expected earnings from companies including D.R. Horton and Pfizer. After losing 3.77% in the last five sessions, the worst since April 2012, the Dow Jones Industrial Average made a rebound. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.
European markets up – Equities on the European exchange rose on Wednesday following a hike in the key interest rates by Turkey to protect its currency. In early trading, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.8% at 1,308.29, after losing 4.2% between Thursday and Monday, which was its steepest decline since June 2013.
Asian markets up – Asian markets bounced back on Wednesday following an increase in rates by Turkey’s central bank, lowering worries over volatility in emerging markets. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei closed on a positive note for the first time in a week, recording its biggest gain in nearly 5 months. Mainland Asian shares continued the upward trend for the second straight session, but Yuan touched a low ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
Stocks to watch
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)
For the fourth quarter, Yahoo posted a profit of $351.67 million, or 33 cents a share, which is an increase over $273.65 million, or 23 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 39 cents a share, on adjusted revenue of $1.2 billion. In after-hours trading, Yahoo shares fell 4% as the display ad revenues came in lower than expected.
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)
For the fourth quarter, AT&T posted a profit of $6.9 billion, or $1.31 a share, from a year-ago loss of $3.9 billion, or 68 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share. Shares of the company fell 1.9%, in after-hours trading.
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA)
Electronic Arts reported a profit of $1.26 a share for fiscal third-quarter compared to 57 cents a share a year ago. The gaming company lowered its fiscal year revenue guidance to $3.52 billion from $3.55 billion. In the extended trading session, shares of the company slid 3.3%.
VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW)
For the fourth quarter, profit for VMware rose to $335 million, or 77 cents a share, from $205.8 million, or 47 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding certain items, the earnings were marginally better than analyst estimates. Revenue for the quarter improved 15% to $1.48 billion. In after-hours trading, shares of the company fell more than 5%.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)
Facebook is projected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $2.33 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet. In after-hours trading, Facebook shares gained 0.63% to $55.49.