Stocks that are expected to trade actively in the U.S. markets on Wednesday include; Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST), ExOne Co (NASDAQ:XONE), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX).
Market Level
U.S.: Dow 16,373.86 (0.71%), S&P 500 1838.88 (1.08%), NASDAQ 4183.02 (1.69%).
Europe: FTSE 6791.40 (0.36%), DAX 9627.84 (0.89%), CAC 40 4298.84 (0.58%).
Asia Pacific: NIKKEI 15808.73 (2.51%), HANG SENG 22902.00 (0.49%), SHANGHAI 2023.35 (-0.17%), KOSPI 1953.28 (0.37%).
Commodities: Oil 92.62 (0.06%), NAT GAS 4.357 (-0.27%), Gold 1239.10 (-0.51%), Silver 20.095 (-0.92%), Wheat 577.25 (-0.35%), Corn 430.75 (-0.17%).
Currency: EUR/USD 1.3613 (-0.48%), GBP/USD 1.6412 (-0.15%), USD/JPY 104.40 (0.19%).
10-year Treasury bond: 2.874 (0.004).
Economic & Market Update
U.S. markets no clear direction: U.S. stock futures on Wednesday were trading in no clear direction ahead of the opening bell. Dow Jones industrial average index futures and Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures each gained 0.15, while Nasdaq index futures fell 0.03%. On Tuesday, U.S. stocks closed higher marking its best performance in 2014 so far following upbeat retail-sales data for December.
European markets up: on Wednesday, European shares hit a new 5-1/2 year highs following the growth forecast being raised by the World Bank for the first time in three years. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 gained 0.5% to 1,332.96, the highest level since the middle of 2008. Germany’s DAX also hit a new all-time high.
Asian markets also up: Asian stocks rebounded strongly on Wednesday after the sell-off yesterday as investors welcomed the improving global economic outlook. However, Chinese equities were down owing to weak data showing Chinese bank lending and money supply growth missed forecasts for December. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei recorded its biggest one day gain after falling 3% to a one-month low on Tuesday.
Stocks To Watch
Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST)
For the fourth quarter, Fastenal Company is expected to post earnings of $0.34 per share on revenue of $813.25 million. In pre-market trading, shares of the company gained 0.58% to $48.49.
ExOne Co (NASDAQ:XONE)
ExOne Company lowered its revenue guidance for 2013, and now expects revenue of $40 million to $42 million compared to previous outlook of $48 million. ExOne said in a statement “The shortfall primarily relates to machine sales not yet completed for customers in Russia, India, Mexico and France, some of which involve approval processes that were deferred into 2014.” In the after-hours trading session, shares of the company lost 13.86% to $53.63.
Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)
Bank of America is expected to post earnings per share of $0.20 on revenue of $22.31 billion in the fourth quarter. In after-hours trading, shares of the U.S. bank gained 0.48% to $16.85. For the same quarter, in 2012, Bank of America earned $700 million, or 3 cents per share, on $18.9 billion in revenues.
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)
General Motors announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share on Tuesday, and also named Chuck Stevens as its new CFO. The company said that, in 2013, it sold 9.71 million vehicles, which is an increase of 4% over the last year. In the after-hours trading session, shares of the auto-maker were up 2.97% to $41.21.
CSX Corporation (NYSE:CSX)
For the fourth quarter, CSX is expected to post earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $3.01 billion. In pre-market trading, shares of the company shed 0.03% to $28.87.
