Futures Fall ahead of Key Retail Data. Stocks to Watch: ADSK, BIDU, DV, XOM, INTC, IBM, NVDA, and UNCA

Published on Friday, 13 August 2010 08:31 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, August 13^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock Futures fell indicating the market will likely extend its weekly losses. Futures were weaker ahead of retail data, as global market participants shrug off good economic data out of the Euro Zone.

European shares turned lower as weak retailers outweighed gains in other sectors. European markets had been higher earlier on the back of strong gross domestic product growth in the euro zone, led by Germany, which had its strongest growth since reunification.

On economic news, at 8:30 am economists are expecting to see a 0.4 percent gain for July retail sales, which would follow a 0.5 percent decline in June. Also at 8:30 the consumer price index will be release with consensus forecasts calling for a 0.3 percent rise after a 0.1 percent fall in June.

At 9:55 am, the University of Michigan is out with its monthly consumer sentiment index. The August reading is expected to come in at 69.8, up from July's 67.8.

Today’s stocks to watch: Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), DeVry (NYSE:DV), Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Unica Corp. (NASDAQ:UNCA)

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK), the design software Company, gained more than 3% in pre-market after it reported yesterday better than expected profit of $0.36 per share, beating the average analyst estimate by $0.09 per share.

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), the largest Chinese Internet search engine, will likely have an upside bias after a bullish note from Kaufman. Analysts at Kaufman note that despite reports that competition is increasing, Baidu should prevail. Kaufman believe the recent announcements like Xinhua venture with China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) are primarily due to Google’s retreat from mainland China over the censorship issues, and they do not see them as a big threat to Baidu’s position in China thanks to its single-minded focus on search.

DeVry (NYSE:DV), the for profit education company that offers online platforms and graduate programs, will likely have a downside bias after FBR Capital lowered its target price on the stock to $60 from $72 per share to at FBR Capital to reflect slowing enrollment growth, the persistent regulatory overhang on the industry, and the recent pullback in the peer group.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), the largest U.S. energy producer, is slightly lower in pre-market trading, as crude oil prices trade close to a four week low as equity markets retreat. Concern over the impact a slowing recovery will have in fuel consumption will weigh in today’s session.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), the IT solutions and consulting services provider, will likely see some volatility after it was announced that IBM enter into a definite agreement to acquire Unica Corp. (NASDAQ:UNCA), the provider of enterprise marketing management solutions, in a cash transaction at a price of $21/share. The acquisition, which is subject to Unica shareholder approval, applicable regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010. Unica shares closed yesterday at $9.55, so IBM will be paying about a 120% premium for the company.

NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world leader in visual computing technologies, jumped more than 4% in pre-market trading after its yesterday quarterly report where the company raised its revenue guidance for the current quarter saying revenues will rise 5% from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), the largest chipmaker in the world, failed to move along to the upside, as it fell close to 0.5% in pre-market trading on speculation that NVDIA is working on a chip for tablet devices that will compete against Intel products.