Stocks Rallying Ahead of NAPM Data

Stocks are preparing for a bit of bounce this morning, based on expectations of a benign National Purchasing Manager's Index, to be reported at 10:00 a.m. EDT, and optimism following lighter-than-expected profit-taking yesterday.

Jobless claims for the week ended May 27, released at 8:30 a.m. EDT, came in relatively cool this morning, at 286,000 versus forecasts of 282,000 and the previous week's 285,000, something Jim Volk, co-director of institutional trading at D.A. Davidson, said could be giving a little bit of boost to futures.

At 9:09 a.m. EDT, the S&P 500 futures were up 11.3 points, about 9 points above fair value and an indication of some buying pressure for the early going. The Nasdaq 100 futures were showing muscle, up 69 points, indicating some strong buying interest for large-cap tech stocks at the open. ...