Stock Futures Climb. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, BA, NKE, ORCL, PALM, and RIMM

Published on Friday, 18 December 2009 08:44 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, Dec 18^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures climbed, pointing to a higher open, as stocks are poised to rebound from yesterday’s session after good earnings reports and upbeat outlooks from Nike, Oracle and Research In Motion.

Index futures moved higher here in New York, as buying in Europe and earnings beats helped establish a bullish mood ahead of the opening bell. The tech heavy NASDAQ should receive the most buoyancy as Oracle and Research In Motion, tech bellwethers, impressed investors with their earnings reports.

There are no economic reports expected today. But since its option expirations, volatility, especially towards the close of the session, is expected. Crude oil was higher trading above $74 a barrel, providing some lift to the energy related shares. Oil is poised to post its best weekly gain since October.

Today Stocks to watch: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Boeing (NYSE:BA), Nike (NYSE:NKE), Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), Palm (NASDAQ:PALM), and Research In Motion (NYSE:RIMM)

In focus this morning is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), rival Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) beat analyst profit expectations and issued an upbeat forecast after its BlackBerry Curve became the top-selling smart phone in the U.S. Shares of Apple Shares of Apple Inc were heavily under pressure in yesterday’s session. For the last few days Apple shares have been stuck in a wedge in the 60 minute chart that is now resolving to the downside, as it failed to break its downtrend and is now well below its 50 day moving average. Strong support for Apple stock is expected around the $185 level.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) is another stock to watch following news that budget european carrier Ryanair has halted discussions to purchase as many as 200 Boeing jets.

Nike (NYSE:NKE), the world’s largest athletic-shoe maker, reported second-quarter profit that fell less than analysts estimated and said orders rose 4% from a year earlier, helped by growth in emerging markets. Shares jumped in after hours and they are gaining more than 1.5% in Frankfurt. In its conference call, the company stood by Tiger Woods, as Nike’s golf line is designed around the golfer.

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL), the world’s second-largest software maker reported second-quarter profit that easily beat Wall Street estimates after customers renewed annual support contracts. Oracle shares surged up to 5% in after hours trading after the report showed an increase in sales of its computer programs, which was surprisingly good news, as it raises the hopes that technology spending is improving after its collapse a year ago. Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) is seen as a bellwether for the industry because of its size how its software is linked to business spending.

Palm Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM): The maker of the Pre mobile phone reported its 10th straight quarterly loss in the second quarter as it struggled to match rivals’ gains in the smart-phone market. While narrowing its loss from a year ago, Palm still reported results short of expectations. Shares are expected to be under heavy pressure as the company is clearly struggling to turn around and return to profitability.

Research In Motion (NYSE:RIMM): surged in extended hours trading, as the BlackBerry maker beat expectations and forecast profit and sales that beat analysts’ estimates as discounts helped boost demand for its Curve phone, the top-selling smart phone in the U.S., the Ontario based company pushed to attract a wider audience, by selling its phones through Wal-Mart Stores and Amazon.com.