LONDON -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average
New economic data due today includes second-quarter productivity, expected to rise from 1.6% to 1.9%, and second-quarter labor costs, expected to have fallen from 1.7% to 1.4%. Also of interest may be the MBA weekly mortgage applications survey and the Johnson Redbook weekly retail sales index.
Shares that could be actively traded today include Dollar General and H&R Block, while investors in Facebook may feel a little happier following a confirmation from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that he has no intention of selling any of his shares for at least another year. Yesterday saw Altera confirm its Q3 forecasts for 2% to 6% growth after markets closed, while FedEx downgraded its next-quarter EPS forecast from a range of $1.45 to $1.60 per share to $1.37 to $1.43 per share. Microsoft and Nokia shares could also be active when the companies unveil their latest smartphone today in what could be Nokia's last chance at regaining its former glory.
European markets
In Europe, trading was fairly listless, with most major indexes remaining close to yesterday's closing levels. Anticipation is building toward tomorrow's European Central Bank meeting, at which a major policy decision -- probably relating to a bond-buying program -- is expected. At 7 a.m. EDT, the DAX was up 0.6%, the CAC was up 0.1%, the FTSE MIB was down 0.3%, and the IBEX was up 0.3%.
In London, the FTSE 100
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