Stocks: Turnaround in store?

@CNNMoneyInvest March 28, 2012: 8:43 AM ET
premarkets

Click chart for more premarkets data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open higher Wednesday, as a positive quarter for the markets enters its final three days.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were higher. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Tuesday after news that home prices in 20 major cities fell to the lowest levels since 2002. A disappointing report on consumer confidence further rattled investors.

Tuesday's declines followed a big run-up in the previous day's session, as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on the job market gave investors reason to believe that the central bank will keep interest rates low.

Stocks have rallied in 2012 on improving economic data and easing concerns about the debt crisis in Europe. With the year's first quarter of trading ending Friday, the Dow has climbed 8%, the S&P 500 has gained nearly 13% and the Nasdaq is up more than 20%.

Gas tops $3.90 a gallon

World markets: European stocks were mixed in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) was down 0.1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany lost 0.3% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) was flat.

Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) tumbled 2.7%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong shed 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) declined 0.7%.

Economy: With little else on the docket, David Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams, said that investors would be keying off a report on durable goods released before the market open.

That report showed durable goods orders increased 2.2% in February, less than the 2.8% expected by economists.

At 10 a.m. ET, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is scheduled to testify before a House Appropriations subcommittee on the Treasury budget.

The price of an average gallon of regular gas surpassed the $3.90 mark Wednesday, according to the latest daily survey conducted for the motorist group AAA. Prices are now within a dime of the $4 threshold after 19 consecutive increases.

Companies: Family Dollar Stores (FDO, Fortune 500) reported quarterly earnings of $1.15 a share on $2.5 billion in revenue. The results were slightly better than analyst estimates.

Annie's Inc., the organic food maker known for its macaroni & cheese, is expected to begin trading under the ticker BNNY (BNNY) on Wednesday. The company priced shares at $19 according to reports, above the established $16 to $18 range. Annie's has sold 5 million shares for its initial public offering.

Check gas prices in your state

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro and the Japanese yen, but strengthened against the British pound.

Oil for May delivery slipped $1.24 to $106.09 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $11.30 to $1,673.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.22% from 2.19% late Tuesday.  To top of page

Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.