European markets moved firmly higher this morning, led by Italy’s FTSE MIB, which was up 2% at 8:15 a.m. EDT after the country’s president was reelected, strengthening his ability to broker a coalition government deal between Italy’s main political parties. Italy has been without a government since general elections two months ago. Elsewhere, news that the combined debt of Britain and the eurozone had reached 90% of those countries’ GDP failed to dent investors’ optimism, leaving the FTSE 100 up by 0.41%. Gold also rose strongly this morning following its recent falls, and spot gold was up around 2.1% at $1,433 per ounce.
In the U.S., today’s existing-home sales report at 10 a.m. EDT is expected to show that 5.03 million existing homes were sold in March, up from 4.98 million in February. The Chicago Fed national activity index, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT, may also provide further evidence of the strength of the economic recovery.
Dow constituent Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) reported disappointing first-quarter earnings this morning. The company earned $1.31 per share, whereas analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg had called for EPS of $1.38. Revenue of $13.2 billion fell short of expectations of $13.7 billion. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) cited a slowdown in the mining sector, for which it provides heavy machinery. Nevertheless, the company is up 1.2% in premarket trading.
Toy maker Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) reported a 30% increase in underlying net earnings to $6.6 million this morning, although the firm reported a net loss of $6.7 million after restructuring charges and tax adjustments were taken into account. Other companies expected to report earnings before the opening bell this morning include Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), Check Point Software Technologies, NVR, and Six Flags Entertainment.
Other stocks that could be actively traded include The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) following confirmation that the company’s Dreamliner airliners are being fitted with reinforced batteries and may recommence commercial flights as soon as next week. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is up in premarket trading and could recover some of Friday’s big losses, while Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) may attract interest, as both are due to report quarterly results after tonight’s closing bell.
The article Dow Higher After Caterpillar Reports Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Roland Head.
Roland Head has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Check Point Software Technologies, Halliburton, Hasbro, and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Check Point Software Technologies, Hasbro, International Business Machines, and Netflix.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
