Market Morning: A Breather at 13,000
NEW YORK (
) -- U.S. stock futures suggested Wall Street would open mixed Wednesday while shares in Europe were lower on pessimism that a second bailout for Greece would succeed.
Asian shares finished higher Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index gained 1% to close at 9,554, its highest close in more than six months. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 21,549.28.
In the U.S. on Tuesday, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
crossed 13,000 intraday but stocks closed mixed as the market gave Greece's second bailout package a tepid reception.
The Dow added 16.2 points, or 0.1%, to close at 12,966. The
S&P 500
finished up 1 point, or 0.07%, at 1362. The
Nasdaq
slipped 3.2 points, or 0.1%, to 2948.
The economic calendar in the U.S. Wednesday includes the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application index at 7 a.m. EST; Redbook weekly chain-store sales at 9 a.m.; and existing home sales for January at 10 a.m.
The Obama administration is proposing to cut the corporate tax rate to 28% from 35%, and to seek an even lower effective rate for manufacturers, a senior administration official told
The Associated Press
.
In turn, corporations would have to give up dozens of loopholes and subsidies, and companies with overseas operations would also face a minimum tax on their foreign earnings, according to the
AP
.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected Wednesday to detail aspects of President Obama's proposed plan.
PC maker
Dell's
(DELL) - Get Report
fiscal fourth-quarter earnings
analysts' expectations despite a solid revenue performance.
Dell on Tuesday reported non-GAAP earnings of $913 million, or 51 cents a share, on revenue of $16.03 billion for the quarter ended Feb. 3. Analysts were expecting earnings of 52 cents a share on revenue of $15.96 billion.
For the current fiscal year, the company expects non-GAAP earnings of more than the $2.13 a share it earned last year. Wall Street expects a profit of $2.05 a share in the fiscal year ending in January 2013.
Dell also said it expects a sequential decline in revenue of 7% in its fiscal first quarter ending in April.
Hewlett-Packard
(HPQ) - Get Report
is expected by analysts after the closing bell Wednesday to report earnings of 87 cents a share on revenue of $30.7 billion.
HP has guided for a profit of 83 to 86 cents a share in the quarter.
PSA Peugeot Citroen
, Europe's second-biggest car maker, acknowledged Wednesday it was in talks about a possible industrial tie-up.
Peugeot's disclosure came amid media reports it's in advanced discussions with
General Motors
(GM) - Get Report
about a partnership.
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
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Joseph Woelfel
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