U.S. Stocks May Continue To Regain Ground On Upbeat Earnings News

Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Wednesday, extending the modest rebound seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 330 points.

The markets may continue to benefit from bargain hunting, as the uptick seen on Tuesday came after the major averages slumped to their lowest closing levels in over a month on Monday.

A surge by shares of Nike (NKE) is also likely to provide a boost for the Dow, with the athletic footwear and apparel giant spiking by 11.2 percent in pre-market trading.

The rally by Nike comes after the company reported better than expected fiscal second quarter results and provided upbeat full-year revenue guidance.

Delivery giant FedEx (FDX) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting fiscal second quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

Shortly after the start of trading, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of December. The consumer confidence index is expected to inch up to 101.0 in December from 100.2 in November.

The National Association of Realtors is also due to release its report on existing home sales in the month of November. Existing home sales are expected to drop to an annual rate of 4.20 million in November from 4.43 million in October.

After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks moved modestly higher over the course of the trading session on Tuesday. The major averages climbed well off their early lows and into positive territory.

The major averages all finished the day in the green, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq was little changed, inching up 1.08 points or 0.1 percent to 10,547.11. The Dow rose 92.20 points or 0.3 percent to 32,849.74 and the S&P 500 crept up 3.96 points or 0.1 percent to 3,821.62.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 1.0 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are surging $1.55 to $77.78 a barrel after advancing $0.90 to $76.09 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,828.80, up $3.40 compared to the previous session’s close of $1,825.40. On Tuesday, gold jumped $27.70.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 131.85 yen compared to the 131.73 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.0641 compared to yesterday’s $1.0624.

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