U.S. stock futures point to extension of gains
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a higher start for Wall Street on Thursday after a strong rally in the last session as the release of bank stress-tests loom, while the markets took in stride news of a $6 billion loss at General Motors.
S&P 500 futures rose 4.6 points to 921.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.5 points to 1,430.25. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44 points.
Financials helped drive strong gains for markets Wednesday, as leaks from the stress tests appeared to give markets less to worry about. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.63, or 1.21%, to 8,512.28, its highest close since early January. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.73 points and the technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite rose 4.98 points.
Bank of America which rose 17% on Wednesday, was up another 10% in pre-market trade. The bank surged in the previous session on reports that regulators told the banking giant it has a capital shortfall of about $35 billion, roughly half the amount some on Wall Street had feared.
The stress-test results will come after the close of trading on Thursday. In a research report Wednesday, Citigroup said stress-tested U.S. banks needed a total of $75 billion in additional capital, with Bank of America needing the most with $33 billion.
Gerhard Schwarz, head of global equity strategy at UniCredit Group, said the leaked numbers look better than what the markets were expecting.
"There is no longer a fear there could be a negative surprise associated with it. That certainly is something that is lifting the markets."
Past the stress tests, he said markets will be looking for more details about the outlook for financials, plus autos will be a focus over the next couple of weeks.
"When will we see more evidence on the default cycle? When will this have an impact on loan books of companies. The next thing to watch is also how the GM saga will continue. Will we see a default there following Chrysler into Ch. 11 or not?"
"I would not be surprised to see some cooling of the equity markets rally later in May as we've seen a strong spurt in very many stocks. I also do not expect a huge fall from here... because many investors are still not in the market," said Schwarz.