Futures Higher on Greece Bailout Speculation. Stocks to Watch: AMR, CAT, DAL, FCX, MCD, MON, and DIS

Published on Tuesday, 09 February 2010 08:33 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, Feb 9th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures were pointing higher, as Wall Street seemed poised to bounce back from yesterday’s drop. Mounting speculation that Greece will receive European help to control its budget deficit pushed the euro higher, along with equities and commodities.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, who cut short a trip to Australia, prompting speculation that initiatives are in the works to help resolve Greece's debt problems.

In the earnings front, Dow component Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) posted a profit of 66 cents a share, in line with estimates and enough to send its shares a slightly higher in pre-market trading.

The government is out with December wholesale inventories at 10 am, with that number expected to rise by 0.5% for the month.

The Treasury will start the week’s auctions of $81 billion of notes. $40 billion in 3-Year notes will be auctioned today, with the results available shortly after 1 pm. That will be followed by the sale of $25 billion in 10-Year notes tomorrow, and $16 billion in 30-Year bonds on Thursday.

Today Stocks to watch:  American Airlines (NYSE:AMR), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), Delta Airlines (NYSE:DAL), Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), Monsanto (NYSE:MON), and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS).

Shares of American Airlines parent (NYSE:AMR) could see a boost, after bankrupt Japanese carrier, Japan Airlines, as Japan Airlines decides to maintain its partnership with American after considering a possible tie-up with Delta (NYSE:DAL). Delta was pushing for Japan Airlines to join its Skyteam alliance to boost passenger traffic. The potential switch of Japan Airlines could be a major blow to American Airlines, as it will leave the Dallas, TX based airline with considerably less presence in the second airline market in the world.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), shares of the largest earth moving equipment maker in the world were trading 4% higher in pre-market trading after an upgrade from Morgan Stanley. The maker of bulldozers and excavators was upgraded to “Overweight”, with a price target of $70 a share. The analysts cited pace of cyclical acceleration and Caterpillar’s ability to deliver on its structural transformation and, potentially, $8-10 in earnings

Shares of Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) were trading higher in European trading after copper prices rose for a second day on the Dollar weakness and speculation that demand will swell on increased imports from China. Copper prices were 1% higher in London trading.

Shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), the largest restaurant chain in the world, traded slightly higher in pre-market trading after posting a 2.6% increase in January same store sales. The sales were weighed down by a decline in domestic comparable sales. Same-store sales in the U.S. region fell 0.7%, while those in Europe and in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region both rose 4.3%.

Monsanto (NYSE:MON), the world’s largest seed producer, traded above $76 a share in pre-market. The shares were raised to “buy” from “neutral” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research, which cited attractive prospects in the corn-seed business and an improved outlook for the Roundup weed-killer.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) will be a stock to watch as the largest media company in the world is schedule to report its quarterly earnings today after the closing bell. Wall Street analysts expect on average for the company to report a profit of $ 0.39 a share on revenue of $9.63 billion. Expected results have a wide range. The high estimate calls for a profit of $0.51 a share and the low estimate is calling for $0.34 a share, a year ago for the quarter the company reported $0.41 a share.