Stock Futures Higher amid Earnings and EU Bond Auctions. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, BAC, BK, EBAY, GS, RIMM, USB, YHOO

Published on Wednesday, 18 January 2012 07:45 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, January 18^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures were pointing to higher open amid earnings and successful bond auctions in the euro zone. A report that the IMF was considering an increase in lending of $1 trillion helped riskier assets.

In Asia, stocks closed mixed, as participants digested some economic data points. Increased jitters in the euro zone, as Portugal was set to test the debt markets with a short-term auction also weighed some on risk in the region. In Japan, the Nikkei jumped 1% on technical buying and closed at its highest level in two weeks. Meanwhile in China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.4%, giving back some of its prior session rally, after a report show a larger than anticipated drop in Foreign Direct Investment in the country.

In Europe, equity markets turned positive following media reports saying that the IMF was looking to boost its lending by $1 trillion; risk overall received a lift from the news and from successful auctions in both Germany and Portugal. Earlier shares were under pressure ahead of short-term bond auctions in the euro zone and after the World Bank cut its global economic growth forecast for 2012 and 2013. In the U.K. there was an unexpected jump in unemployment at 8.4%, hitting a 17-year high.

The euro was jumping 0.7% against the Dollar, trading above the $1.28 level. Crude oil was gaining 0.54% to $101.25 per barrel. Natural Gas, which has been under major pressure, was falling 0.2% to $2.483 per MMBtu. Gold was adding 0.08% to $1657 an ounce and silver was climbing 0.4% to $30.255 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper was gaining 0.43%.

On economic news, at 8:30 am, the Labor Department will release its Producer Price Index (PPI), with economists expecting an uptick of 0.1%, while Core PPI is also expected at 0.1%. At 9:15 am, December Industrial Production & Capacity Utilization figures will be available. And at 10 am, the January NAHB Housing Market Index will be release.

Today’s Stocks to watch: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), the maker of iPads and iPhones, was gaining 0.31% to $426 in pre-market on news that the tech giant has filed another suit in Germany seeking to ban the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy S and S II smartphones. The suit filed in the Dusseldorf Regional Court is based on Apple’s design rights and it raises once more the ante in the global patent war in mobile devices. Yesterday, Apple lost a ruling at the International Trade Commission, as an administrative Law judge ruled in favor of Motorola Mobillity, finding no violation of the three patents listed in the Apple’s suit. Also helping lift sentiment in the early going was a report on the Wall Street Journal noting that General Electric was starting to adopt Apple laptops and desktops, in another sign that consumers are pressuring businesses to adopt Apple’s products. Apple is scheduled to report earnings next week, with analysts expecting a profit $9.95 per share on revenues of $38.58 billion. Last week, Ticonderoga said that its checks indicate that Apple had its best December growth ever, with a 9.4% month over month growth, the first December where sales increased month-over-month, while Goldman Sachs and Needham upped estimates. Goldman boosted its target price to $550 from $520 and Needham maintained its Buy rating and target price of $540, while citing blow out iPhone sales. Needham raised its EPS estimate to $10.85 for the quarter from $9.55.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was gaining 0.46% to $6.51, following positive bond auctions in Portugal and Germany and a report that the IMF was considering to raise its lending programs by $1 trillion. Banks have been in focus in the last sessions amid earnings reports in the space. BofA was under pressure in yesterday’s session after Citigroup missed earnings expectations. The Charlotte, NC based lender is scheduled to report its quarterly results on Thursday before the open, with analysts on average expecting a profit of $0.23 on revenues of $24.08 billion.

Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), the financial services company, will likely be under pressure after the company missed on both the bottom and top lines. The lender said that it earned for the quarter $0.42 per share, $0.10 worse than consensus, on revenues that fell 5.6% year over year to $3.54 billion versus consensus of $3.75 billion. Bank of New York said that it was a challenging revenue quarter, as general uncertainty in the financial markets resulted in lower-than-normal levels of client activity, however it notes progress in improving capital position and reducing operating expenses. Results were also impacted by seasonality in the Depositary Receipts business.

eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), the owner of paypal and operator of an auction marketplace, will likely be in focus for the session ahead of the report of its quarterly results after the close. The company will report its earnings and revenues figures, with participants and analysts expecting strong U.S. results and some growth slowdown in Europe, where the crisis has weighed on consumer sentiment and economic growth. On average analysts expect eBay to post a profit of $0.57 per share on revenues that are expected to jump more than 30% year over year to $3.32 billion. Participants will also look for additional signs of strong growth at its Paypal unit, which has been growing quickly and helps users process payments on the web. The stock has calculated support at $29.55 and resistance at $32.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), the Wall Street investment bank, will be in focus, as the company will report its quarterly results later this morning at 8 am. Analysts expect on average a profit $1.27 per share on revenues of $6.54 billion. Participants will pay close attention to the revenue side and how the firm is adjusting to the challenging trading environment amid increased regulatory burdens. Last quarter, the company reported only its second loss ever since going public back in 1999. Earlier in the month, the stock was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.

Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM), the maker of the Blackberry smartphone, was tumbling 4.87% to $16.62, giving back more than half of its prior session 8% rally, after Samsung Electronics quelled takeover rumors. The Korean electronics juggernaut said that it was not interested in buying Research In Motion or even licensing its operating system. Yesterday, Rim shares rallied on rumors over a possible takeover or a sale of one or more of its divisions.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), the largest lender in Minnesota and owner of the fifth largest U.S. bank, was jumping 0.45% to $28.90 on initial reaction to its quarterly results. The lender said its profit for the quarter was $0.64 per share, excluding $0.05 in non-recurring items, $0.01 better than consensus, on revenues that climbed 8.1% year over year to $5.1 billion. U.S. Bancorp said that average loans grew 5.9% year over year and noted that credit quality continued to improve in the quarter, with both net charge-offs and nonperforming assets lower than the prior quarter.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), the Internet media company that owns the second largest search engine, was jumping 3.7% to $16 in pre-market following yesterday’s news of the resignation of Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s co-founder, to all of its positions in the company, including his seat on the board of directors. Participants were looking at the departure as a sign that a deal that will unlock near-term shareholder value in now more likely, as there was a perception that the company’s co-founder was more focused on trying to rebuild Yahoo than making a deal. Mr. Yang was involved in rejecting Microsoft offer for the company in 2008. The stock has calculated resistance at $16.40 and support at $15.35.