Stock Futures Higher. Tame CPI Outweighed FDX Earnings. Stocks to Watch: CAH, GOOG, JCG, NKE, PFE, RIMM, TEVA

Published on Thursday, 18 March 2010 08:55 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, March 18^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures point to a slightly higher open, as Wall Street seems poised to continue to grind higher. A tame consumer price index (CPI), signaling no inflation threat, and jobless claims closely in line with expectations outweighed overseas concerns over Greece bailout plans.

The number of newly laid-off workers requesting jobless benefits fell slightly last week for the third straight week. The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment insurance fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 457,000. That nearly matched analysts' estimates of 455,000.

Earlier the sentiment was toward a down day, as Greece’s concerns resurfaced and Federal Express (NYSE:FDX), the express delivery company and economic bellwether reported quarterly earnings of 76 cents a share but saw its stock tumble more than 3% in premarket trading, as the report disappointed investors.

At 10 am, the Philadelphia Fed index will be release and its expected to come in at 17.8 compared to 17.6 a month ago. At the same time, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators is forecast to rise 0.1%.

Today Stocks to watch: Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), J. Crew Group (NYSE:JCG), Nike (NYSE:NKE), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA),

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH), the U.S. drug distributor, won a contract valued as much as $206.4 million from the U.S. Defense Department.

Shares of J. Crew Group (NYSE:JCG) are moving higher as in pre-market trading, as T.V. host Jim Cramer made positive comments on the company in its Mad Money show. Cramer said the retailer is the best of breed, and he is excited by past and future performance, citing the CEO is introducing new concepts to help drive sales.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), the owner of the leading Internet search engine, will be a stock to watch. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company has partnered with Intel and Sony to o move its technology into the living room. The effort, which is in its preliminary stages, includes software to help users navigate among Web-based offerings on television sets and serve as a platform for other developers to target in creating new programs. The technology could be included with future TVs, Blu-ray players or set-top boxes.

Shares of Nike (NYSE:NKE), the athletic footwear and apparel giant, will see upside, after the company reported better than expected earnings prompting FBR Capital to upgrade Nike to “Outperform” from “Market Perform”, raising the stock target to $84 a share. Besides the earnings beat, the analysts cited visibility to sustained top-line growth, as Nike's dominant position in the athletic footwear industry allows the company to capitalize on a strengthening product cycle, global positioning, and opportunities to harvest investments in apparel and direct-to-consumer. FBR Capital also noted the unmatched financial flexibility.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), the Blackberry maker, will be in focus after Oppenheimer raised their estimates for the stock as positive checks point to a strong quarter, when the company reports in March 31^st. The analysts at Oppenheimer believe results will be above guidance and consensus expectations driven by aggressive carrier promotional activity, international strength and more Curve 8520 & Bold 9700 traction. In order to account for the strength and strong execution RIMM 4Q10 estimates at the firm are raised to $1.32 a share.

Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA), the generic drug maker announced that it would acquire Ratiopharm, the German 2^nd largest generic pharmaceutical company, for an enterprise value of EUR3.625 billion, with the transaction expected to add to earnings within three quarters after closing. Teva expects to complete the transaction by year-end 2010, with synergies of of at least 300 million euro. Investors and analysts seculated the Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), the largest pharmaceutical in the world and maker of Viagra, would be making a bid for Rathiopharm, in order to increase its standing in the generic drug market.