Stock Market Watch

Futures Point to a Higher Start

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U.S. stocks futures pointed towards a higher start on Friday as investors look forward to loads of economic data releases on the last trading day of the month.

At last check, futures on Dow Jones added 0.09%; the NASDAQ 100 gained 0.21% while futures on S&P 500 Index advanced 0.21%

At 8:30 a.m. EST, data on personal income and consumer spending for July is due with economists anticipating a fall in both readings, according to a poll conducted by MarketWatch.

A gauge on manufacturing activities in the Chicago region for August is scheduled to be released at 9:45 a.m. EST. The PMI Index is expected at 53.5 from 52.3 in July.

Later at 9: 55 a.m. EST, the University of Michigan /Thomson Reuters’ consumer sentiment index is due with economists forecasting a final reading of 80.5 up from 80.

In some corporate news, activist investor, Carl Icahn disclosed late on Thursday that he has increased his stake in Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) to 16.9%, citing that the stock is undervalued.

Apache Corp (NYSE: APA) has sold its 33% stake in Egyptian oil and gas business to China’s Sinopec Group in deal estimated at $3.1 billion.

Shares of Splunk Inc (NASDAQ: SPLK) will be under spotlight. The Company late on Thursday said that fiscal second quarter loss widened due to higher expenses linked to stock based compensation. However, both core earnings and revenue beat Wall Street’s expectation. The Company also handed upbeat full-year sales outlook.








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edliston
Post Written By: 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 in his yacht.

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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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