After ending May at an all-time high, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.46%) has gained 21 points in pre-market trading, suggesting another push into record territory for the stock market today. World indexes rose almost across the board overnight, led by a 2% jump in Japan's Nikkei, while European shares were up 0.2% as of 7:30 a.m. EDT.
Market movers
Meanwhile, news is breaking this morning on several stocks that could see heavy trading in today's session, including Apple (AAPL -0.91%) and Conn's (CONN 2.69%).
Image source: Apple.
Apple investors who were hoping for a big new product unveiling at its Worldwide Developers Conference today could be in for a disappointment. Reports in both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times this morning cited inside sources who said the tech giant won't introduce any new hardware like the rumored smartwatch or larger iPhone at this week's event. Instead, Apple is likely to unveil operating system updates, introduce a new health-tracking app, and announce a push into "smart home" software that can control lights, thermostats, and other electronics around the house, according to the reports. This means shareholders would have to wait a while longer to hear about the "new product categories" that CEO Tim Cook has said the company will target this year. Still, with Apple's shares up 54% since last July and a 7-for-1 stock split set for this week, investors should have plenty of patience these days.
Specialty furniture, appliance, and electronics retailer Conn's this morning posted surprisingly strong quarterly earnings results. Comparable-store sales spiked higher by 16%, which powered a 34% revenue bounce to $335 million. Wall Street was expecting sales to come in at $328 million. CEO Theodore Wright added in a press release that sales growth has kept its momentum in the current quarter, saying, "this growth continued into May with same store sales increasing 13%." Conn's profit, at $0.80 a share, also significantly beat the consensus estimate of just $0.73. The company benefited from a jump in furniture and mattress sales, which are more profitable than its consumer electronics products. That success helped gross margin improve by more than 1% to 41% of sales. Conn's also confirmed its full-year guidance for earnings of about $3.55, or slightly more than analysts' estimates. The stock was up 10.4% in pre-market trading.
