--Stock futures nudge higher ahead of Fed's policy statement
--Europe mostly higher, as Bank of England close to adding more stimulus
--Fed's policy statement due at 12:30 p.m. EDT; press conference to follow
NEW YORK--U.S. stock futures nudged higher, helped by gains in
European markets, as hopes for further stimulus measures kept
investors in a positive mood ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary
policy statement.
About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average
futures tacked on 12 points, to 12774.
Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures added 3 points, or 0.2%, to
1353 and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 8 points, or 0.3%, to 2621. Changes
in stock futures do not always accurately predict stock moves after
the opening bell.
The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee is due to release
its monetary policy statement at 12:30 p.m. EDT. Fed Chairman Ben
Bernanke will follow with a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT.
Speculation has been increasing that the Fed will announce the
extension of its stimulus measure known as "Operation Twist," in which
the Fed sells short-term Treasurys and buys longer-dated ones in an
effort to keep long-term borrowing costs down.
European markets were mostly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up
0.2%, after the minutes from the Bank of England's last policy meeting
revealed the central bank was close to pumping more stimulus in the
U.K. economy.
Also giving a lift to sentiment, data showed that employment in the
U.K. rose in April to the highest level in more than three years. The
U.K.'s FTSE 100 index was up 0.5%.
That also helped ease tensions in Spain, with the yield on 10-year
government bonds slipping further below the key 7% mark and the
IBEX-35 index tacking on 0.6%.
Asian markets were mostly higher on hopes of more stimulus from the
Fed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rallied 1.1% and Australia's S&P ASX
200 gained 0.2%. China's Shanghai Composite bucked the trend, slipping
0.3%.
Crude oil futures rose 0.4% to $84.34 a barrel, while gold futures
slipped 0.6% to $1,612.80 an ounce. The U.S. dollar lost ground
against both the euro and the yen.
In corporate news, shares of Procter & Gamble gave up 2.3% after the
blue chip consumer products company lowered its earnings outlook for
the current quarter and for the next fiscal year, citing
slower-than-expected growth in developed markets.
Adobe Systems shed 6.7% after the company provided a downbeat outlook
for the current quarter, citing a weaker demand forecast in Europe.
Facebook eased 0.4% ahead of the open. The stock rose 1.6% on Tuesday
to stretch its winning streak to four sessions, and to close at the
highest level since May 25.
Idenix Pharmaceuticals climbed 17% after the company announced upbeat
interim results from a Phase 2 study of its hepatitis C treatment.
-Write to Tomi Kilgore at tomi.kilgore@dowjones.com
HOT STOCKS TO WATCH
Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Wednesday's session are Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), Adobe Systems
Inc.(ADBE) and Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IDIX).
Procter & Gamble lowered its earnings guidance for the current quarter
as well as for the 2013 fiscal year, citing market share softness in
developed markets and a substantial negative impact from foreign
exchange rates. Shares were last trading 2.4% lower at $60.72 in
premarket trade.
Adobe's fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 2.4% as the software
company transitions to subscription services from packaged software.
Shares slumped 5.8% to $30.99 premarket after the company reduced its
full-year revenue target and narrowed its full-year earnings view.
Biopharmaceutical firm Idenix provided results from an ongoing Phase
2b study of its lead hepatitis C drug, IDX184, that showed positive
suppression of the virus. Shares were last trading 12% higher at
$10.50 premarket.
Shares of diagnostic-product developer AspenBio Pharma Inc. (APPY)
tumbled premarket after the company revealed it would sell 6.1 million
shares at $2 each, a 36% discount to Tuesday's close. Shares were last
down 38% at $1.92 in premarket trading.
La-Z-Boy Inc.'s (LZB) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings surged from
income from antidumping duties and a narrower loss at its retail
segment, though the residential furniture maker's revenue weakened
owing to an added week of sales a year earlier. Shares were down 1.4%
to $12.95 premarket.
Watchlist:
Health insurer Aetna Inc. (AET) recently won a group Medicare
Advantage contract for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas that
could add more than $800 million in Medicare premiums next year, the
company said late Tuesday.
BankUnited Inc. (BKU) Chief Executive John Kanas and the bank's vice
chairman and chief lending officer, John Bohlsen, will pay a combined
$20 million to Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) out of their own
pockets to settle a lawsuit alleging they had breached a noncompete
agreement.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lifted its outlook on Charles River
Laboratories International Inc. (CRL) to stable from negative,
pointing to the drug-research services provider's improving revenue
trends and lower spending on share repurchases.
ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) responded to a recent lawsuit that claims its
hot dogs and other products sold under its Hebrew National brand
aren't kosher.
GenMark Diagnostics Inc. (GNMK), a provider of medical diagnostic
testing systems, said it plans to offer 10 million shares of its
stock.
GNC Holdings Inc.'s (GNC) board has authorized up to $300 million in
share repurchases, as the nutritional-supplement retailer looks to
boost shareholder value.
FSI International Inc.'s (FSII) fiscal third-quarter earnings soared
as the microelectronics-equipment maker posted sharply higher revenue.
Still, shares came under pressure after the company projected fiscal
fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street views.
Jabil Circuit Inc.'s (JBL) fiscal third-quarter earnings shrank 3.2%,
snapping a long-running streak of improving income, as distressed
customer charges in the latest period overshadowed slightly improved
revenue.
Insight Venture Partners added fellow private-equity firm Vector
Capital to its effort to take Quest Software Inc. (QSFT) private,
raising the data-management company's latest buyout bid to about $2.17
billion.
Mitel Networks Corp.'s (MITL) fiscal fourth-quarter income soared as
the online-communications company saw higher deferred income-tax
recoveries and better-than-expected revenue buoy results.
Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) has agreed to pay up to $20.9 million to settle
allegations that the company failed to pay proper overtime wages to
assistant managers and co-managers.
Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (SHO) said it plans to sell 11 million
shares of its stock, looking to use the money to fund its planned
$91.75 million purchase of the 357-room Hilton Garden Inn Chicago
Downtown/Magnificent Mile.
Write to Mia Lamar at mia.lamar@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 20, 2012 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
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