Futuros EUA : Thursday turnaround talk

[notiCIas]

Thursday turnaround talk

Stock futures indicate a higher open as investors shrug off weak tech earnings.

January 19, 2006: 6:18 AM EST


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - After a two-day selloff, U.S. stock indexes were poised to rebound Thursday as investors shrug off disappointing earnings data from the tech sector and take heart in strength in the overseas market.

U.S. stock futures were tentatively higher, indicating gains at the open ahead of the weekly initial jobless claims report and housing starts data. Investors will also be keeping a close eye on fourth quarter earnings from drug maker Pfizer and brokerage Merrill Lynch.

The expected gains in the U.S. market follow a rebound in Asia, with Tokyo's Nikkei bouncing back from Wednesday's sharp selloff that forced the market to close early. European markets, likewise, were trading higher.

Oil prices are hovering close to $66 a barrel, after falling Wednesday as unusually warm weather curbed heating demand in the United States. But concerns linger over threats from Nigerian militants to halt shipments from the world's eighth biggest crude exporter have oil prices slightly higher Thursday.

The February light crude futures contract for NYMEX climbed 15 cents to $65.88 a barrel in electronic trading, while the March contract for Brent crude gained 45 cents to $64.64.

Treasury prices turned lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.37 percent from 4.33 percent late Thursday. The dollar was virtually unchanged against the yen but gained slightly against the euro.

In corporate news, Apple (Research) reported a solid quarter after the bell Wednesday, beating Wall Street's earnings expectations, but the company's lukewarm guidance could take a toll on its stock during the session.

Advanced Micro Devices (Research) -- a keep competitor of Intel which disappointed earlier this week -- missed analysts' earnings expectations but did swing back into the black from losses in the comparable quarter a year earlier.

Walt Disney (Research) may be looking to acquire Pixar (Research) at a small premium to the company's current stock market value of $6.7 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The deal would be a stock transaction and make Pixar Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs the biggest individual shareholder in Disney, the newspaper reported.