Stock Futures Higher on Fed Hopes. Stocks to Watch: AAPL, ADSK, DFS, FB, FDX, JCP, MSFT, ORCL, WAG

Published on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 07:18 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, June 19^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stock futures were pointing to a higher open as participants anticipate that the Fed will sprung into action, providing further stimulus to a sluggish U.S. economy as the central bank starts a tow-day meeting. Overseas markets were mixed, as Spain’s bond yields eased below 7%, while G20 leaders meeting in Mexico focused on the debt crisis in Europe.

In Asia, stocks ended lower amid renewed concerns over the health of the Spanish banking system and the country’s record high bond yields, which would make it difficult to be able to finance its obligations. The positive results from Greece’s weekend election spurred a short relief rally, as Spain returned to the spotlight, with the deteriorating banking system dragging the country deeper into the crisis. The Nikkei retreated from a one month high, falling 0.75%, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.6% amid worries of a sharp slowdown in economic growth.

In Europe, most markets were logging gains, with the CAC 40 in France trading with modest losses, as participants appear to bet on further Fed action. German ZEW data was well below expectations, while Spain offered about 3 billion in short term securities, still seeing a strong bid to cover ratio despite record high yields, which resulted in the Spanish 10-year bond yields to drift back below the 7% mark.

The euro was gaining against the Dollar, trading above the $1.26 level. Crude oil was losing 0.23% to $83.08 per barrel. Also in the energy complex, natural gas was jumping 0.53% to $2.649 per MMBtu. Gold was adding 0.31% to 1632.10 an ounce, and silver was climbing 0.48% to $28.81 an ounce. Meanwhile, copper was retreating 0.18%.

On economic news, at 8:30 am, Housing Starts and building permits data for May will be available.

Today’s Stocks to watch: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK), Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS), Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), FedEx (NYSE: FDX), JC Penny (NYSE: JCP), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), and Walgreen (NYSE: WAG).

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), the maker of iPads and iPhones, was adding 0.03% to $585.95 in pre-market, after the stock closed above its 50day moving average at the $578 level but just below its calculated resistance at $588.50. News of the new Surface tablets from Microsoft will be on participants focus, particularly as the launch of its first ever computer, marks a major shift in strategy for the software giant, which looks to replicate the success of Apple. Yesterday’s jump in the stock, helped moved out from its trading range of $560 to $580.

Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK), the design software Company, will be in focus after the company reaffirmed its fiscal second quarter and full year outlook, while increasing its share repurchase program authorization by 30 million shares.

Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS), the credit card issuer, will be in focus as the company is scheduled to report its quarterly results later this morning. On average analysts expect a profit of $1.00 per share on revenues of $1.84 billion. Last quarter, the company posted a 25.5% upside earnings surprise as it earned $1.18 per share.

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), the social media Company, was climbing 0.6% to $31.60 in pre-market, extending its rally from the prior session. The stock has seen a sharp move to the upside since it become apparent that the stock bottomed on June 6^th at $25.52 and after the company announced a new advertising model. Yesterday, Facebook announced that it would buy Face.com, a site that provides facial-recognition technology, for about $55 to $60 million.

FedEx (NYSE: FDX), the worldwide express package delivery company, will be in focus as the company is scheduled to report its quarterly results later this morning. On average analysts expect a profit of $1.92 per share on revenues of $11.13 billion. Last quarter, the company posted a 14.8% upside earnings surprise as it earned $1.55 per share.

JC Penny (NYSE: JCP), the department store operator, will be in focus after tumbling more than 5% in after hours following news that its President Michael Francis will be leaving the Company, effective immediately. CEO Ron Johnson will assume the direct responsibility of the JC Penny’s marketing and merchandising functions.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), the world’s largest software publisher, was climbing 0.64% to $30.03 in pre-market after unveiling 2 models of Windows based tablets, called Surface. One model will be available running an ARM processor featuring Windows RT, and one with a third-generation Intel Core processor featuring Windows 8 Pro. The company latest incursion into the hardware segment is the latest attempt to compete against the Apple iPad juggernaut. Microsoft didn’t release any pricing, just saying that the price will be announced closer to availability and is expected to be competitive with a comparable ARM tablet or Intel Ultrabook-class PC.

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL), the information management software provider, was jumping 3,8% to $28.15 in pre-market after the company beat earnings expectations on record quarterly results and announced a $10 billion share repurchase program. The company earned $0.82 per share, $0.04 better than consensus, on revenues that climbed 1% from a year ago to $11 billion versus consensus of $10.88 billion. Oracle also issued mixed guidance for the current quarter, or fiscal first quarter. The company sees EPS of $0.51 to $0.55 versus consensus of $0.53 on revenues of $8.23 to $8.48 billion versus consensus of $8.66 billion.

Walgreen (NYSE: WAG), the operator of retail drugstores offering pharmacy services and general merchandise, was climbing 1.69% to $32.50 in pre-market after the company reported quarterly results, increased its quarterly dividend, and announced that it will be acquiring a 45% stake and forming a strategic partnership with international pharmacy chain Alliance Boots. Walgreen will be spending $6.7 billion to buy the stake in a cash and stock transaction. Walgreen said that it earned $0.62 per share, including $0.01 impact due to costs related to strategic transaction with Alliance Boots just announced today, $0.01 worse than consensus, on revenues that fell 3.4% from a year ago to $17.75 billion, slightly below consensus of $17.95 billion.