Futures Higher; Sony, Microsoft, Walmart Are Stocks to Watch

The U.S. futures are higher after the markets were closed for the Christmas holiday yesterday. The Dow eked out a small gain Wednesday and the Dow finished above the 18,000 mark once again. International stocks are mixed. Sony is in the news for two reasons this morning. Its marquee Christmas day movie 'The Interview' opened in hundreds of indie movie theaters across the country. It was also distributed for a fee on Google's Play service and YouTube movies, among other online destinations. The movie made headlines when Sony pulled the film's release as hackers threatened any theater showing it. Also both Microsoft Xbox Live and the Sony Playstation network were down most of the day Christmas day due to a 'denial of service attack'. Taking credit for the takedown was a group called Lizard Squad, which has said it was responsible for August hacking of games. Microsoft and Sony have not commented on the claim, but both said they were fixing the issues. Walmart is testing a gift card exchange. Starting yesterday, the Associated Press reports the retailer will let customers exchange gift cards from more than 200 retailers, airlines and restaurants.The cards don't expire and can be used in stores and online. The cards won't be worth their full value and right now its just a test program. We are also awaiting figures on holiday retail sales. Its been a tough year for most stores as the consumer remains cautious. At a time of year that is traditionally expected to make up some 40% of revenue for retailers, 2014 holiday sales are still expected to be tepid and remain below pre-recession levels at 4.1%, that is according to the National Retail Federation.