Stock Futures Lower amid Greek Jitters. Stocks to Watch: ANF, AAPL, BAC, GM, JCP, PAAS, SINA, SPLS, TGT

Published on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 07:08 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, May 16^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures were pointing to a lower open amid ongoing Greece worries. German Chancellor said that it would work to keep Greece in the euro zone, while a New Greek election was called for June following failed efforts to form a government, leaving its euro membership at stake. Economic data along with earnings from key retailers in the U.S. will be key to help investors shift focus.

In Asia, stocks fell into fresh multi-month lows, as participants continued with a risk off trade amid the political turmoil in Greece. The uncertainty and politician’s rhetoric was spurring fears of Greece’s exit from the euro zone. In China, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.2%, while the Hang Seng tumbled 3.2%, as financials dragged the market lower, as in addition to the Greek jitters, participants dumped shares on a report of flat loan growth in the first weeks of May. Meanwhile, in Japan, the Nikkei fell 1.1%.

In Europe, markets were under pressure as worries over Greece undermined risk appetite. After failing to form a new government a second elections seems more likely, with participants worrying that it will yield as a result a coalition that will push for Athen’s exit from the euro zone. Chatter over a possible run on Greek banks was also adding to the woes.

The euro was falling against the Dollar, but still trading below the $1.28 level. Crude oil was losing 1.73% to $92.35 per barrel. Also in the energy complex, natural gas was climbing 0.20% to $2.505 per MMBtu. Gold was falling 1.34% to $1536.300 an ounce, and silver was slumping 2.39% to $27.41 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper was retreating 1.59%.

On economic data, at 8:30 am April Housing Starts and building permits will be available. At 9:15 am April Industrial Production will be released. At 10:30 am, the Energy Department will release its weekly inventory report on crude oil and distillates, and at 2 pm the FOMC will release its minutes from its latest meeting.

Today’s Stocks to watch: Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), General Motors (NYSE: GM), JC Penny (NYSE: JCP), Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS), Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA), Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), and Target (NYSE: TGT).

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), the specialty retailer, will be in focus, as the company will release its quarterly results later this morning. Participants will be paying special attention, as Abercrombie has substantial exposure to Europe. On average analysts expect a profit of $0.02 per share on revenues of $9521.33 million. The highest estimate calls for $0.11 per share, while the lowest calls for a loss of $0.03 per share.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), the maker of iPads and iPhones, was climbing 0.1% to $553.75 in pre-market. The stock broke below its April low of $555 in the prior session, leaving open to test the $513 level amid further broad market weakness. Rival Samsung tumbled more than 6% in Korean trading on a report that Apple placed a massive chip order to struggling Japanese chipmaker and rival Elpida. According to the report, the order for mobile dynamic random access memory is about half of Elpida’s Hiroshima plant capacity. Apple secured the order in an attempt to maintain bargaining power in the chip market and do not give Samsung an edge by keeping Elpida running. Earlier in the week, there were reports that Apple is planning to add new photo sharing features to its iCloud. The new features, which could be announced at Apple’s world-wide developer conference beginning June 11, will allow iCloud users to share sets of photos with other iCloud users and to comment on them.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was unchanged in pre-market, amid the ongoing jitters over the impact of a possible Greek default and a subsequent Athen’s exit from the euro zone. The stock has support at its 200day moving average at the $7.23 level.

General Motors (NYSE: GM), the world’s second largest automaker, will be in focus in the session after rallying 4.7% to $22.44 in after hours on news that Berkshire Hathaway disclosed in a 13F filling a new 10 million share position, worth $256 million.

JC Penny (NYSE: JCP), the department store operator, was plunging nearly 13% to $29 in pre-market after the retailer missed earnings expectations by a wide margin and said that it won’t meet fiscal 2013 GAAP guidance, while it will discontinue its quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share. JC Penny reported an adjusted loss of $0.25 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.17 worse than consensus, on revenues that missed consensus, falling 20.1% from a year ago period to $3.15 billion. Additionally, the company anticipates it will incur additional restructuring charges throughout the fiscal year as it takes aggressive action to further simplify its operations and its infrastructure.

Pan American Silver (NASDAQ: PAAS), the second largest primary silver producer in the world with operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru, will likely be under pressure amid a sharp drop in silver prices and after the company missed earnings expectations. The silver bullion was under heavy pressure, as the Dollar strengthened against the euro on Greek worries. Pan American said it earned $0.47 per share, $0.02 worse than consensus, on revenues that were inline with consensus and that climbed 20% from a year ago period to $228.8 million. Additionally, the company reported silver production of 5.5 million ounces and gold production of 19,496 ounces. Pan American also announced that it would restart a share repurchase program of up to 5,395,540 of its common shares.

Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA), the Chinese online media company and owner of the Weibo microblogging service commonly referred to as the Twitter of China, will be in focus after gapping nearly 8% in after hours following positive reaction to mixed quarterly results. The stock tested its 20day exponential moving average at the $56 -$57 level. The company reported a loss of $0.21 per share, excluding items, $0.02 worse than consensus, on revenues that climbed 1.3% from a year ago period to $101.5 million, below consensus of $105 million. The company however provided inline revenue guidance for the current quarter.

Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), the office supplies, furniture, and technology retailer, was falling 2.7% in pre-market after reporting inline earnings on revenues that missed expectations. The retailer reaffirmed its fiscal 2013 revenue and earnings guidance. Staples said it earned $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, on revenues that fell 1.1% from a year ago period to $6.1 billion.

Target (NYSE: TGT), the Minnesota based general merchandise discount store chain, will be in focus as participants wait to see what impact does recent falling gas prices have on the retailer results. The company is scheduled to report its quarterly results before the opening bell. On average analysts expect a profit of $1.01 per share on revenues of $16.83 billion.