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Dow points to flat open ahead of US data, Applied Materials in focus

17th Feb 2012, 7:44 am by Joyanta Acharjee
Dow points to flat open ahead of US data, Applied Materials in focus

US equity markets looked set to open flat Friday as investors hesitated to make big bets before Greece secures a second bailout to avoid a default.

In pre-market trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 points to 12,882, the S&P 500 was up 0.12% at 1,354.80 and the NASDAQ lost 1.5 points to 2,592.

Thursday US markets ended in the green as hopes rose for approval of a second Greek bailout and weekly jobless claims fell to their lowest level in nearly four years. The Dow closed up 123.13 points, the S&P 500 closed 14.81 points higher and the NASDAQ ended the session 44.02 points higher.

Germany wants eurozone finance ministers to avoid splitting a 130 billion euro bailout for Greece from a planned bond swap with private creditors, officials from Europe’s largest economy said.

A Eurogroup meeting on February 20 will probably approve the package and the debt exchange, three sources said.

In corporate news, semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) posted fiscal first-quarter profit of 18 cents per share, six cents above estimates, with revenues also beating consensus.

The company projected second-quarter profit above Street estimates as well, citing strong demand in the mobile computing market.

Department store Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) reported fourth quarter earnings of $1.11 per share, two cents above estimates, but its profit forecast for the current fiscal year fell short of consensus, and the retailer also said its gross profit margin would fall this year.

Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FTR) reported fourth-quarter profits of 7 cents per share, excluding certain items, compared to estimates of 5 cents, but investors are focused on a drop in subscriber numbers, as well as a 47% cut in the company’s quarterly dividend to 10 cents per share.

Chinese online search company Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) reported fourth quarter profit of 95 cents per share, four cents above estimates, helping its shares jump more than 4% after-hours. The company also reported above-consensus revenues of $710.9 million.

Online reviewer Yelp plans to sell 7.15 million shares in an IPO, at a price range of $12 to $14 per share, raising as much as $100 million. 

On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index is expected to show that inflation ticked up by 0.3%, after holding steady in the two months prior.

The Leading Economic Indicators index is expected to tick up by 0.5%, after increasing by 0.4% in the prior month.

Commodities

In NYMEX futures trading, oil for March delivery gained 25 cents to $102.56 a barrel and gold for April delivery rose $3.40 to $1,731.70 an ounce.

Europe

European stocks were modestly higher in midday trading with the FTSE 100 added 0.3%, the DAX rose 0.9% and the CAC 40 gained 1%.

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