(MENAFN– ecpulse) Markets look set to welcome in July with a cheer, despite ongoing fears over a correction in markets.
Many investors have earned their bragging rights at the end of the second quarter, with markets in the U.S. closing the curtain on a solid first two quarters in 2014 with approximately a 6% gain, althougth not as strong as the year before, the bull market is still going.
A contracting economy weighed on most comapnies` performances in the first quarter due to the harsh winter, and some economists sparked fears that the bull market is near its end, citing volatiltiy and volume levels of multi-year lows
Most companies that lagged during the second quarter came off first quarter earnings reports that diminished the outlook for such companies.
Around 28% of major U.S. companies were left behind in 2014. Whole Foods, office supply stors Staples, and Financial company Navient over 32% each.
Best Buy was among the 2014 laggers that crawled back in the second quarter. Although its share was down 22% for 2014, the company recovered 17.5% during the second quarter. Some major shares were unchanged, but it is considered as negative as a decline during a bull market as strong as this one. Western Union
U.S. stock futures signaled a higher open with most global indices were rising.
-Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.233% to 16779
-Futures on the S&P 500 Index gained 0.220% to 1956.70
-Futures on the NASDAQ 100 gained 0.306% to 3852.25 . As of 07:44 a.m. ET
Wall Street ended mixed on Monday. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 fell slightly while the NASDAQ notched some gains.
Even with Monday’s mixed performance, benchmark indices in the U.S. have seen a strong first half of 2014. The S&P 500 has notched 22 record highs this year alone, ending the second quarter up 6%.
Prices for oil and gold were rising, though the gains were small.
Some individual stocks are worth watching on Tuesday.
Online streaming video service is revamping its list of offerings this month according to CNN. Netflix was up 3.45% in premarket.
Xerox was the leader in losses in premarket, with shares down over 1.6% after reports that showed the company is looking to auction off over 200 patents with the company unable to give any comments on the reports.
BNP Paribas shares saw some relief, rising 0.5% in Paris, after pleading guilty to U.S. charges of sanctions and agreed to pay a record fine of nearly $9 billion.
On the economic calendar, investors await a government report on construction spending, due at 10:00 a.m. ET.
At the same time, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for June will be released. Data on vehicle sales will be released in the afternoon by the Commerce Department.
European markets were all rising in early trading. The benchmark FTSE 100 in London was leading the pack with a gain of 0.4%.
Most Asian markets ended in positive territory, after China`s official survey of manufacturing activity hit its highest level since December. The Nikkei in Japan was a standout performer, closing with a 1.1% gain.
Hong Kong markets were closed Tuesday for a public holiday, the 17th anniversary of the territory`s handover from British to Chinese rule. Thousands of demonstrators were marching to the city`s main business district to protest against Beijing`s moves to assert greater political control.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.