LONDON -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) and the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC) are expected to open higher this morning, according to futures markets at 7 a.m. EDT.

Yesterday's losses are likely to be reversed today, courtesy of China's central bank. The Chinese stock market rebounded from a multiyear low overnight, and the country's central bank is said to have injected $58 billion into money markets this week -- the largest weekly amount ever.

Today's economic data includes weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. New claims are expected to have fallen from 382,000 to 375,000. Also due at 8:30 a.m. EDT are August's durable-goods orders, which are expected to have fallen sharply from July's 4.1% gain to -5.3% in August. The third item due at 8:30 a.m. EDT is the latest second-quarter GDP revision, which is likely to remain unchanged at 1.7%. This will be followed at 10 a.m. EDT by the pending home-sale index for August.

Several large companies are due to report quarterly results today, though not until after markets close. Both Nike and Research In Motion will update the markets tonight. Analysts are expecting Nike to report falling earnings on rising sales, with consensus estimates predicting a fall in earnings per share from $1.36 to $1.12. RIM is expected to report a 40% fall in revenue to $2.49 billion, but losses are expected to have shrunk from $0.63 per share last year to $0.47 per share.

European markets
In Europe, markets have gained this morning after big losses yesterday. The main eurozone event today is the unveiling of Spain's 2013 "austerity" budget at 2 p.m. EDT. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is expected to face widespread public opposition to further cuts, but with 10-year bond yields above 6%, he has little choice but to position the country ready for a bailout.

At 7 a.m. EDT, the DAX was up 0.5%, the CAC was up 1%, the FTSE MIB was up 0.9%, and the IBEX was up 0.6%. In London, the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) rose as mining shares climbed in reaction to China's latest stimulus efforts. At 7 a.m. EDT, the FTSE 100 was up by 0.4%, with Shire and sugar giant Tate & Lyle both managing to outperform the miners and take the top two spots in the gainers table, up by more than 2% each.

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