LONDON -- Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.13%) may open down by 0.21% this morning, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.12%) may open 0.17% lower. The CNN Fear & Greed Index has continued its rise, closing up at 85 yesterday, suggesting that investors remain bullish.
European markets edged lower this morning as mining shares weakened after JPMorgan downgraded its growth forecast for China. In London, the FTSE 100 was 0.1% lower at 7:10 a.m. EDT. Among the biggest fallers were silver-miner Fresnillo, down 3.6%, and Anglo American, which was down 3.5%. Heading the other way was water utility Severn Trent, which soared 14.9% after the firm reported a takeover offer from a consortium including the Kuwait Investment Authority.
Today's U.S. economic reports are limited to the NFIB small-business survey for April, which is expected to have risen to 91 from 89.5 in March, and April's import prices, which are expected to have fallen 0.5% after dropping 0.5% in March.
Earnings season continues to tail off, but companies scheduled to report quarterly results today include Agilent Technologies and Hi-Crush Partners, which reported net income of $10.8 million on revenue of $19.6 million for the first quarter of 2013. Hi-Crush said it was continuing to benefit from the increase in the average number of frac stages per well and that demand remained strong, with 312,730 tons of frac sand shipped during the quarter, generating distributable cash flow of $14.5 million.
SolarCity could fall when markets open -- the company's share price plunged 11.8% in after-hours trading yesterday after it reported a first-quarter loss of $0.41 per share. SolarCity stock is up by 200% so far this year despite the firm's lack of profitability, which it says is due to its policy of covering new customers' installation costs in the hope of longer-term returns. BlackBerry may also be more heavily traded than usual this week, as the company's three-day BlackBerry Live conference begins today in Orlando, Fla. BlackBerry is expected to focus heavily on the potential of its new BlackBerry 10 operating system and talk up the early success of its new-generation devices, the Z10 and Q10. BlackBerry's share price has risen by 34% so far this year after hitting record lows in 2012.
Finally, let's not forget that the Dow's daily movements can add up to serious long-term gains. Indeed, Warren Buffett recently wrote, "The Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497 in the 20th Century, a staggering 17,320% increase that materialized despite four costly wars, a Great Depression and many recessions." If you, like Buffett, are convinced of the long-term power of the Dow, you should read "5 Stocks To Retire On." Your long-term wealth could be transformed, even in this uncertain economy. Simply click here now to download this free, no-obligation report.
