Stock Market Watch

Stock Futures Higher Ahead of Retail Sales Data

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U.S. stock index futures are trading higher ahead of retail sales data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 33 points to 11,285, the S&P 500 futures are up 3.60 points to 1,199 and the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 11 points to 2,144.70.

Lowe’s Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) today announced its third-quarter financial results. The second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer reported a 17% increase in third-quarter profit on the back of controlled labor expenses. Lowe’s reported third-quarter net income of $404 million, or $0.29 per share, up from $344 million, or $0.23 per share reported in the same period in 2009. Excluding one-time items, the company reported third-quarter earnings per share of $0.31, beating average analyst estimates of $0.30 per share. Shares of Lowe’s Cos. are up 0.28% to $21.75 in pre-market trading today.

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that it intends to acquire data-storage company Isilon Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLN) for $2.25 billion. Each of Isilon shareholders will be paid $33.85 per share, representing a premium of 29% over Friday’s closing price. EMC expects to close the deal by the end of this year. Shares of EMC Corporation are down 0.14% to $21.69 in pre-market trading. Meanwhile, shares of Isilon Systems are up 29.02% to $33.92 in pre-market trading today.

Crude oil rebounded in trading today, with oil for December delivery climbing $0.80 to $85.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.



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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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