New York, December 20^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures were pointing to a higher open, as Wall Street seems poised to stage a rebound following improved German business sentiment figures and after solid demand at a Spanish short-term bond auction. Meanwhile, Apple won a patent infringement ruling in the U.S.

In Asia, stocks inched higher, with the major indices ending mixed. In South Korea, the KOSPI was able to stage a modest rebound, climbing 0.91%, however caution remains as the cautious trade remained as the uncertainty in North Korea continued after the death of its troubled leader Kim Jong Il. Overall risk aversion continued, with euro zone debt crisis jitters and concern that tougher capital requirements from banks in Basel III would undermine once more the profitability in the space. In Japan, the Nikkei climbed 0.5%, rebounding from the prior session, in which fears of regional instability weighed. Meanwhile in China, stocks edged lower, falling 0.1%, posting their second loss this week.

In Europe, markets were trading higher, with the FTSE notably underperforming, with pharmaceutical companies logging sizeable losses, as drug maker AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) announced test failures in its drug pipeline. Encouraging data in German business sentiment was helping Europe to stage a rebound. Data showed a sharp climb, surprising participants that expected a decline and highlighting the underlying strength of the region’s largest economy. Comments made late yesterday by ECB President Mario Draghi weighed on early trade, in which he said bond market pressure on the euro zone would be very significant in the first quarter of next year, but failed to hint any increase to its bond-buying program, sending the euro lower.

The euro was higher against the Dollar, trading above the $1.30 level. Crude oil was climbing 1.37% to $95.17 per barrel. Gold was gaining 0.65% to $1607 an ounce, and silver was jumping 1.54% to $29.32 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper was advancing 0.98%.

On economic data, at 8:30 am November Housing Starts will be released, with analysts expecting 627,000 units. At the same time building permits will also be available, with analysts expecting 633,000.

Today’s Stocks to watch: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), AT&T (NYSE:T), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Nike (NYSE:NKE), Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S).

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the maker of iPads and iPhones, was gaining 1.15% to $386.60 in pre-market, trading above its 20day moving average, following news that the International Trade Commission ruled that some HTC smartphones that use the Google’s Android software infringe an Apple patent. The U.S. trade agency banned the importation of the devices from the Taiwanese company into the U.S., handling a victory to Apple in its long patent war, while also enhancing Apple’s position in its other cases against Android smartphone makers. Apple appears to be much more interested in halting sales of the products that infringe patents, especially into the U.S. market, rather than reaching a financial settlement. The heart of the disputes in this case were the technology that lets you tap your finger once on the touch screen to call a phone number that is written inside an e-mail or text message, and schedule a calendar appointment. A small but convenient feature for a smartphone, with the ruling actually having the potential to take this functionality out of Android based devices. Additionally, according to Israeli media, Apple has acquired Anobit, the maker of flash storage technology, for about $500 million. Anobit’s chips were already in Apple devices, but the tech giant was more interested in Anobit's technology to increase and enhance the memory volume and performance of its devices, as the new chip might double the memory volume in the new iPads and MacBooks. Separately, according to Oppenheimer Verizon checks, the firm believes the company will sell 4.5 million iPhones in the quarter. Last week, Bernstein reiterated Apple as its Top Pick with a target price of $575, saying the market has been overly pessimistic on the stock in the recent weeks, while Ticonderoga said that Apple had its best November on record. And Citi bumped its iPhone shipment estimates north of 30 million earlier in the month. The stock has calculated support at $363.32 and resistance at $396.41.

AT&T (NYSE:T), the owner of the second largest U.S. wireless carrier, would be in focus after late yesterday the company announced that it was ending its bid to acquire T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion, amid fierce opposition from federal regulators. The company fought for 9 months to get the deal trough and propose several asset sales, however the regulatory burden made it non attractive to proceed, with Deutsche Telekom set to receive a $4 billion payout as a breakup fee. JPMorgan downgraded AT&T to a Neutral from Overwieght.

Rival Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), the third largest U.S. wireless carrier, would be in focus after jumping 6% in after hours following the AT&T – T-Mobile news, as the company had opposed the deal, saying it was anticompetitive. Participants had concerns over the deal, as it would have leave Sprint as a distant third in the market place. Sprint closed below its calculated support at $2.21 in the prior session after a 4% drop in the share price. Year to date, the stock has tumbled close to 49%.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), the largest U.S. lender, was jumping 2.31% to $5.10 in pre-market, staging a rebound from the prior session selloff that took the stock to trade below the 5 handle and post a new multiyear low of $4.92. Comments from Mario Draghi, failing to hint over changes to its bond-buying program and with traders over reacting to concern if the lender will have enough capital to comply with tougher global capital requirements amid speculation the Fed will announce the acceptance of global regulations from Basel III later this week. The tougher regulations specter weighed heavily, as investors worried if the bank will have enough capital to support the massive mortgage-related losses. An improvement in German business confidence helped overall sentiment on the financial sector, while housing starts data later in the morning will likely impact trade on BofA.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS), the maker of Cheerios and Progresso soup, was falling 1.9% to $38.84 after the company missed earnings expectations on revenues that were inline with consensus. General Mills said it earned $0.76 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than consensus, on revenues that climbed 13.7% to $4.62 billion. General Mills reaffirmed its fiscal 2012 EPS guidance of $2.59 to $2.61 versus consensus of $2.61.

Nike (NYSE:NKE), the athletic footwear and apparel giant, will be in focus as participants adjust positions ahead of the company’s quarterly results scheduled for after the closing bell. On average analysts expect a profit of $0.97 per share on revenues of $5.63 billion. Last quarter, the company posted a 12.4% upside earnings surprise, as it earned $1.36 per share. Earlier in month, Nike was added to the Top Picks Live list at Citigroup and Stifel Nicolaus raised its target price to $108 from $98. Cannacord Genuity said last week that it expects solid bottom and top line results, driven by the continuation of solid trends in the athletic cycle. Nike has calculated support at $89.79 and resistance at $97.50.

Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), the enterprise information management software provider, would be in focus in the session, as it’s schedule to report its earning after the closing bell. On average analysts expect a profit of $0.57 per share on revenues of $9.23 billion. Last quarter, the company posted a 2.1% upside earnings surprise, as it earned $0.48 per share. Earlier in the month, Barclays initiated coverage in the stock with Overweight. In the prior session, Oracle fell over 2%, closing below calculated support at $28.81.

Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), the world's leading open source technology solutions provider, was tumbling 8.66% to $42.06, trading below calculated support at $44.97, after participants reacted negatively to its quarterly results. The company beat earnings expectations on revenues that were inline with consensus. Red Hat said it earned $0.28 per share, $0.02 better than consensus, on revenues that jumped 23.1% year over year to $290 million. The stock logged an all-time high of $53.42 last month.