Stock futures point higher as investors get set for a deluge of earnings this week.
Stocks look set to open higher in what could be a light trading session Monday as investors await a flood of earnings due later in the week.
S&P and Nasdaq futures posted gains in before-hours trading.
Stocks ended with a second straight week of gains Friday, though prices were little changed on the day. (For more on last week's market action, click on the graphic.)
Overseas, shares ended mixed in Asia, where Tokyo was closed for a holiday, and opened higher inEurope.
The Treasury market is closed for the Columbus Day holiday in the United States.
In overseas trading, the 10-year note barely budged in price, leaving its yield at about 4.27 percent. The U.S. government, most banks and some businesses will be closed for the holiday.
Analysts polled by First Call think corporate profits for companies in the S&P 500 grew 15.8 percent in the third quarter, versus a year ago -- 12.5 percent if you exclude the effects of Lucent's massive write-down in the third quarter of last year.
But the odds are that the earnings, when they come, will be much better than forecast. Analysts have been unusually conservative with their estimates this year, and signs are that this conservatism continued into the current reporting period.
The economy probably grew much faster than expected in the third quarter, but with the exception of the energy sector, estimates have barely budged since Aug. 1.
For investors, the question is whether better-than-expected earnings already have been priced into the market.
Monday's earnings calendar is fairly light but the reporting season kicks into full swing Tuesday. First up: Johnson & Johnson, followed by Bank of America and then Intel, the latter due after the closing bell.
Other reports to watch this week: General Motors and IBM, due Wednesday, and Coca-Cola and Nokia, set for Thursday. For more on the key reports that matter.
Stocks look set to open higher in what could be a light trading session Monday as investors await a flood of earnings due later in the week.
S&P and Nasdaq futures posted gains in before-hours trading.
Stocks ended with a second straight week of gains Friday, though prices were little changed on the day. (For more on last week's market action, click on the graphic.)
Overseas, shares ended mixed in Asia, where Tokyo was closed for a holiday, and opened higher inEurope.
The Treasury market is closed for the Columbus Day holiday in the United States.
In overseas trading, the 10-year note barely budged in price, leaving its yield at about 4.27 percent. The U.S. government, most banks and some businesses will be closed for the holiday.
Analysts polled by First Call think corporate profits for companies in the S&P 500 grew 15.8 percent in the third quarter, versus a year ago -- 12.5 percent if you exclude the effects of Lucent's massive write-down in the third quarter of last year.
But the odds are that the earnings, when they come, will be much better than forecast. Analysts have been unusually conservative with their estimates this year, and signs are that this conservatism continued into the current reporting period.
The economy probably grew much faster than expected in the third quarter, but with the exception of the energy sector, estimates have barely budged since Aug. 1.
For investors, the question is whether better-than-expected earnings already have been priced into the market.
Monday's earnings calendar is fairly light but the reporting season kicks into full swing Tuesday. First up: Johnson & Johnson, followed by Bank of America and then Intel, the latter due after the closing bell.
Other reports to watch this week: General Motors and IBM, due Wednesday, and Coca-Cola and Nokia, set for Thursday. For more on the key reports that matter.
3287.99
1275.09
