Techs to get Apple boost
Futures point to higher open after Apple, AMD top earnings targets; CPI, retail sales on deck.
July 14, 2005: 6:14 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks could get a lift from stronger than expected tech earnings, although investors will also get to see some key economic reports before the market opens Thursday.
U.S. stock futures were sharply up in early trading, indicating a strong opening for stocks, after Apple Computer (Research) reported better than expected sales and earnings and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (Research) reported a profit rather than the forecasted loss.
Even though Apple gave guidance for the current period that was less than forecasts, its shares were up more than 3 percent following Thursday's after-hours report. AMD shares were also up around 3 percent.
CPI...At 8:30 a.m. ET the Labor Department will release its key monthly inflation report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the Consumer Price Index was up 0.3 percent in June after a 0.1 percent decline in May, while the so-called core CPI, which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, is seen rising 0.2 percent, compared to a 0.1 percent rise in May.
Retail sales...Also at 8:30 a.m., the Commerce Department will release its reading on June retail sales.
Major chain stores generally reported strong sales in June and retail sales are forecast to be up 0.9 percent for the period, after a 0.5 percent fall in May. Excluding auto sales, the rise is expected to be 0.5 percent after a 0.2 percent fall a month earlier.
Other markets
Oil prices were lower in early trading as the latest forecasts for Hurricane Emily suggest it won't affect oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
The light crude futures contract lost 27 cents to $59.74 a barrel in electronic trading, while the contract for Brent crude fell 39 cents to $57.88.
Major markets in Asia closed higher Thursday on the strong tech earnings, and major European markets also were higher in early trading.
Bond prices were little changed, leaving the yield on the 10-year treasury at the 4.16 percent level hit late Wednesday. The dollar lost ground on the euro and the yen.