US futures rise ahead of week's first trading day
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock futures rose Wednesday, the first day of trading this week after Hurricane Sandy shut down Wall Street and darkened a broad swath of the East Coast.
Global markets remained relatively buoyant while U.S. financial markets were shut down, and they rose again ahead of the opening bell on strong earnings from automakers in Europe and the U.S., and also on quarterly results from European airlines.
Dow Jones industrial futures rose 47 points to 13,101. The broader S&P futures tacked on 7.7 points to 1,415.30. Nasdaq futures rose 8.25 points to 2,667.25.
General Motors Co. easily beat most expectations for the third quarter, though profits were dragged down by the debt crisis in Europe. North American warranty costs cut into earnings as well.
Mazda broke free of a long string of losses, posting a $153.3 million profit in the July-September quarter, though it revised downward its sales forecast for the year.
Other corporate earnings coming out Wednesday include, MasterCard and Visa. Dozens of quarterly reports which had been postponed will be arriving over the next two days.
The government releases its comprehensive jobs report for October at the end of the week.
