Markets Up On Durable Goods, Pending Home Sales

U.S. stock futures were mixed this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 4 points to 12,482.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.80 points to 1,316.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.75 points to 2,549.00.
 
U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.26% to 12,534.67, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.48% to 1,319.99 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.63% to 2,854.06.
 
Data on durable-goods orders for May were out this morning as orders for long-lasting U.S. goods bounced back in May following two-straight declines. Pending home sales for may, Meanwhile, climbed to their highest levels in two years as U.S. markets moved up on the news.

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is expected to report its Q3 earnings at $0.38 per share on revenue of $2.14 billion. McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.60 on revenue of $969.79 million.
 
Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.34 on revenue of $557.67 million.
 
General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.59 per share on revenue of $4.11 billion. Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $1.60 per share on revenue of $4.00 billion.
 
Sealy (NYSE: ZZ) reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit.
 
H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) posted a drop in its fourth-quarter profit.
 
European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.25%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.25%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.38% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.04%.
 
Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.77%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.23% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.68%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.03% and India's Sensex rose 0.31%.
 
The dollar index (DXY) rose 0.02% to trade at 82.40, up from 82.365 in late North American trading on Tuesday.
 
Gold for August delivery dropped $5.60 to $1,569.30 an ounce, while crude oil for August delivery declined $0.28 to $79.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

BY Monica Gerson