Stocks Set for Mixed Open
Stocks were set for a mixed open Monday as rising oil prices continued to restrain buyers.
Index futures recently showed the
trading 2 points above fair value, while the Nasdaq 100 was set for a 1-point decline. The 10-year Treasury bond was down 5/32 in price to yield 4.54%, while the dollar rose against the euro and fell against the yen.
Oil rose as Iran took steps to resume uranium enrichment as its dispute with U.N. nuclear inspectors intensified. Crude for March delivery was recently up 69 cents to $66.06 a barrel. Traders fear possible economic sanctions will crimp world supplies after Iran ended inspections of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Overseas markets were higher, with London's FTSE 100 recently up 0.4% to 5784 and Germany's Xetra DAX adding 0.6% to 5691. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5% overnight to 10,748, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.8% to 15,548.
Stocks fell last week as the
Federal Reserve
laid the groundwork for more rate hikes and several high-profile earnings missed the mark. For the five sessions, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 1% to 10,793, while the S&P 500 lost 1.5% to 1264 and the
Nasdaq Composite
dropped 1.8% to 2262. The major averages are all down between 2% and 3% from the four-year highs touched in mid-January.
In earnings Monday,
Hasbro
(HAS)
said its first-quarter profit rose 15% from a year ago to $94.3 million, or 48 cents a share, while adjusted earnings of 61 cents a share were 3 cents ahead of estimates.
Health-insurance company
Humana
(HUM)
said fourth-quarter earnings rose 34% from a year ago $64.6 million, or 39 cents a share. Excluding items, the company earned 46 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny.
Other companies set to release earnings this week include
Cisco
(CSCO)
,
Disney
(DIS)
and
Coca-Cola
(KO)
.
