Wall Street Seems Poised to Extend Weekly Gains on Earnings Strength. Stocks to Watch: AMZN, BAC, BAX, EL, F, LPS, JPM, MCD, and MSFT

Published on Friday, 23 July 2010 08:44 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, July 23^rd (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures pointed to a higher open, as Wall Street seemed poised to extend their weekly rally after economic reports in Europe signaled that the debt crisis has not affected growth rates significantly and another dose of healthy earnings reports lifted sentiment.

Good corporate reports from several companies, including Verizon (NYSE:VZ), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Ford (NYSE:F), are helping yesterday’s momentum to continue into the start of today’s trading session.

European stocks were mixed, but mostly higher, with miners leading the gains, as investors await the results of the European bank tests, which are due at midday New York time and should provide details on how the 91 banks tested under worsening economic conditions.

Also in Europe, Moody's placed Hungary's credit rating under review for possible downgrade in the wake of collapsed debt negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.

Today’s stocks to watch: Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Baxter International (NYSE:BAX), Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), Ford (NYSE:F), Lender Processing Services (NYSE:LPS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the world’s largest on line retailer, fell more than 10% in pre-market trading, on disappointment over its quarterly earnings report and outlook, which was released yesterday after the close. The company posted a second quarter profit of $0.45 per share, $0.09 lower than the average analysts estimates; revenues rose 41.3% year over year to $6.57 billion in line with consensus. The retailers issued in-line guidance for third quarter, it sees revenues of $6.9-7.625 billion.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX), the medical instruments and supplies company, jumped close to 3% in pre-market trading after its stock was added to the Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Financial stocks will be in focus, with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), the U.S. largest lenders, as European policy makers release the results of bank stress tests in Europe. Despite not having big exposures with European banks, investors will likely react to the news. Both stocks were gaining close to 0.5% in pre-market trading.

Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL), the skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care Products Company, was downgraded to a Sell from Hold at Stifel Nicolaus. The firm believes earnings expectations for fiscal 2011 are too high. They also think the company is likely to be conservative when issuing first time fiscal 2011 guidance, and weight it to fiscal 2H11, particularly given macroeconomic conditions in Europe. Shares of Estee Lauder fell more than 2% in pre-market trading.

Ford (NYSE:F), the Dearborn, MI based automaker, posted a strong quarterly earnings report as sales climb. The automaker trimmed its U.S. sales forecast and predicted weaker results in the second half as the economy slowly recovers. Ford posted a profit of $0.68 per share, easily beating the average analyst estimate of $0.40 per share; revenues jumped to $31.3 billion, surpassing estimates of $29.8 billion. Helped by brisk sales from Ford Fusion and the F150, the number 2 U.S. automaker gained market share from Toyota, General Motors, and Chrysler. Shares of Ford jumped nearly 5% in pre-market trading.

Lender Processing Services (NYSE:LPS), the mortgage processing and default management outsourcing services provider, was downgraded to a Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, following earnings report. Shares of Lender Processing fell 2.36% in pre-market trading.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), the largest restaurant chain in the world, posted a profit of $1.13 a share, $0.01 better than consensus; revenues climbed 5.3% year over year to $5.95 billion, which was in line with expectations. The report disappointed investors, as they send the shares 1.5% lower in pre-market trading.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), the largest software publisher in the world, reported, yesterday after the close, a solid quarter, with upside to revenues, margins, and earnings per share. The revenue upside was driven by an improvement of enterprise spending. Windows benefited from the corporate PC refresh cycle, which many analysts believe is in its early stages. However reaction to the strong quarter has been somewhat muted, with some analysts attributing it to the overhang on the stock over the company’s mobile and tablet strategy. Microsoft will be hosting an analyst day next week, with some expecting management to present a renewed strategy in the space. Also today Microsoft was upgraded to a Hold from sell at The Benchmark Company, with the firm setting its target price at $32. Microsoft shares gained 0.39% in pre-market trading.