Market Expected to Open on a Mixed Note

Stock index futures are pointing to a mixed opening for the U.S. equity market in trading today as investors continue to assess the developments in the euro zone. Investors are also digesting a surprise earnings miss from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).

At last check, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were trading 34 points higher at 11,560, the S&P 500 futures were trading 3 points higher at 1,226, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were trading 10 points lower.

On Tuesday, all three major indexes had finished sharply higher following a rally in late trading. The late rally was triggered by a report from U.K.’s Guardian newspaper that France and Germany agreed to expand the size of the euro zone bailout fund to 2 trillion euors. The report from Guardian was, however, later contradicted by Dow Jones Newswires, which said that European officials are still discussing the issue.

European markets are higher in mid-day trading today despite another rating downgrade for Spain. Moody’s cut Spain’s credit rating to A1 from AA2.  At last check, the FTSE 100 Index in London was up 1.3%, while the DAX Index in Frankfurt was up 1.6%. Earlier, Asian markets ended mostly higher, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 0.4% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 1.3% higher.

On the earnings front, investors are digesting some mixed earnings reports. After market close on Tuesday, Apple released its fourth-quarter financial results, missing estimates for the first time in six years. Apple’s fourth-quarter earnings of $7.05 per share fell short of analysts’ estimate of $7.39 per share. Apple shares are down more than 5% in pre-market trading.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) also released its quarterly results after market close on Tuesday. The chipmaker reported better than expected third0quarter profit, pushing shares up more than 4% in pre-market trading.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) also reported its quarterly results, posting earnings of $0.21 per share for the third quarter. Yahoo shares were up more than 2% in pre-market trading.

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.