LONDON -- Markets look likely to post opening gains this morning, with futures markets at 7 a.m. EDT predicting a 0.33% opening rise for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
With no major economic data scheduled for release today, all eyes will be on the latest corporate earnings. Among the first results were Q3 figures from SunTrust Banks
Today's biggest earnings announcement may come from Caterpillar, which is due to report Q3 results and issue updated Q4 and full-year guidance later this morning. A Reuters forecast found that analysts expect Caterpillar to announce revenue of $16.8 billion and earnings per share of $2.22.
Other big names due to report today include Yahoo!, Texas Instruments, and Freeport-McMoRan.
European markets
Japanese exports fell by 10.3% last month, according to figures published overnight. The news made little impression on European markets, which opened broadly unchanged and remained calm through the morning. At 7 a.m. EDT, the DAX was up 0.02%, the CAC was up 0.34%, the FTSE MIB was up 0.9%, and the IBEX was up 0.23%. In Spain, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that strong local election results in his native Galicia region of Spain renewed his austerity mandate after his party extended its majority in the regional assembly.
In London, the FTSE 100
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