Sunday, August 19, 2012

Futures Jump as Bernanke Stays Loose, German Confidence Rises

Coming off the worst week for the major indexes this year, stocks were poised to bounce back on Monday. A gauge of business confidence in Germany rose unexpectedly, and investors are hoping that European leaders raise their bailout fund when they meet later this week. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke sounded a cautious note on the economy at a speech in front of the National Association of Business Economics this morning, arguing that recent job growth could be transitory. He also made it clear that the Fed is unlikely to budge from its “accommodative” monetary policy.

Dow futures rose 83 points to 13,115; S&P 500 futures rose 7.9 points to 1,402.

Large caps were swinging higher with Caterpillar (CAT) up 1.3%.

Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) rose 4% in pre-market trading after its movie Hunger Games generated the third-largest opening weekend box office haul ever.

Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) rose 9.5% after receiving positive news out of Europe on a weight -loss drug.

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