Stock Futures Rise as Crude Moves Toward $50
New York (May25) Stock futures looked to add to Tuesday's rally on Wednesday as crude oil tried to recapture a level above $50 a barrel.
S&P 500 futures added 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.32%, and Nasdaq futures gained 0.38%.
Crude oil prices traded at a seven-month high on Wednesday morning after a weekly read on inventories showed a larger-than-expected decrease. The American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels last week, double what analysts had expected. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released mid-morning.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 1.2% to $49.20 a barrel early Wednesday.
U.S. stocks enjoyed a big rally on Tuesday as Wall Street finally came to grips with the potential for an interest rate hike in June following a week of worry.
Current labor data suggests it is time for the central bank to implement another rate hike, St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard told CNBC, adding to the chorus of Fed members who support a hike sooner than later. Bullard noted that June nor July were sure deals and that the Fed would continue to analyze incoming data.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) surged 11% in premarket trading after announcing plans to spin off its enterprise services unit which will then merge with Computer Sciences (CSC) . HPE shareholders will hold 50% of the newly formed company. Computer Sciences rocketed 12% higher.
Microsoft (MSFT) announced plans to lay off 1,850 workers, another step in its moves to streamline its cellphone hardware business acquired from Nokia. The tech giant will take a restructuring charge of roughly $950 million in the current quarter.
Tiffany & Co. (TIF) fell in premarket trading after issuing a soft forecast for the full year. The jeweler expects full-year earnings to fall by mid-single-digit percentages, above consensus for a 1.8% drop. The company blamed lower foreign tourist spending in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.
Wells Fargo (WFC) shares were on watch after the bank lowered profit targets for the next two years. The company is targeting return on equity between 11% to 14%, down from a previous range of 12% to 15%.
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Source: TheStreet
