Anticipation of Yahoo! results could keep investors on edge in Wednesday's trading session.
Speculation about whether Yahoo!'s second-quarter earnings will be something to cheer, or its stock's outlook something to fear, will be front-and-center when Wall Street kicks off its trading day Wednesday.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a lower start for the major indexes, which have risen both days this week.
Yahoo, the Internet portal, is scheduled to report its quarterly results after the close of trading. Income is expected to have risen to 8 cents a share from 3 cents a year earlier, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call.
But there are some who wonder whether Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), whose $35.10 closing price Tuesday is within a buck of its 52-week high, is overvalued. Concerns about its fee-based services and its HotJobs employment listings may also be addressed when the company discusses its results in a conference call.
The Dow Jones industrial average barely continued its winning ways Tuesday with a microscopic 0.1 percent gain. The Nasdaq composite index was much stronger, up 1.5 percent.
Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei gaining 0.9 percent to finish within 10 points of 10,000. European markets were lower in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates) rose more than 3 percent. The aluminum maker reported lower second-quarter earnings that nevertheless topped analysts' expectations.
Another stock of interest is Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates). The world's No. 1 software maker said Tuesday that it will start awarding stock to employees instead of stock options, which could affect the reporting of quarterly earnings. The company will have more details on the impact when it reports results July 17. European shares were unchanged early Wednesday.
Treasury prices rose early Wednesday, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.68 percent from 3.73 percent late Tuesday. The dollar weakened against the yen and euro.
Brent oil futures advanced 3 cents to $27.95 a barrel in London, where gold was higher.
After trading begins, the government issues its wholesale inventories report for May. It's expected to show a 0.2 percent increase, compared with April's 0.1 percent decrease, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Speculation about whether Yahoo!'s second-quarter earnings will be something to cheer, or its stock's outlook something to fear, will be front-and-center when Wall Street kicks off its trading day Wednesday.
At 5:20 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a lower start for the major indexes, which have risen both days this week.
Yahoo, the Internet portal, is scheduled to report its quarterly results after the close of trading. Income is expected to have risen to 8 cents a share from 3 cents a year earlier, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call.
But there are some who wonder whether Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), whose $35.10 closing price Tuesday is within a buck of its 52-week high, is overvalued. Concerns about its fee-based services and its HotJobs employment listings may also be addressed when the company discusses its results in a conference call.
The Dow Jones industrial average barely continued its winning ways Tuesday with a microscopic 0.1 percent gain. The Nasdaq composite index was much stronger, up 1.5 percent.
Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei gaining 0.9 percent to finish within 10 points of 10,000. European markets were lower in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates) rose more than 3 percent. The aluminum maker reported lower second-quarter earnings that nevertheless topped analysts' expectations.
Another stock of interest is Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates). The world's No. 1 software maker said Tuesday that it will start awarding stock to employees instead of stock options, which could affect the reporting of quarterly earnings. The company will have more details on the impact when it reports results July 17. European shares were unchanged early Wednesday.
Treasury prices rose early Wednesday, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.68 percent from 3.73 percent late Tuesday. The dollar weakened against the yen and euro.
Brent oil futures advanced 3 cents to $27.95 a barrel in London, where gold was higher.
After trading begins, the government issues its wholesale inventories report for May. It's expected to show a 0.2 percent increase, compared with April's 0.1 percent decrease, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
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