- Stocks ended mixed in the latest session. The Dow fell 18 points. The S&P gained 3 and the Nasdaq rose 8 points. U.S. futures point to a modestly higher open on Wall Street.
- Asian stocks recovered today and European stocks are higher. Sentiment was helped by more optimism about China as the World Bank boosted its forecast for the world's third-largest economy this year from 7.2 percent to 8.4 percent.
- Oil prices fell slightly to near $79 a barrel today in Asia despite an unexpected drop in U.S. crude supplies which suggested demand may be picking up. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release more supply data later today.
- Not a lot of drama is seen emerging from the Federal Reserve meeting, which concludes today. Analysts expect the central bank will maintain the target for its benchmark rate at the current record-low level.
- A key data service says U.S. retail sales figures are mostly rebounding from their dismal levels last year
but are still below October 2007. The numbers show that categories including jewelry and apparel posted gains. They also find that discounting, which depresses total sales figures, wasn't as deep this October as last. That's according to SpendingPulse, a service of MasterCard Advisors.
11/04/2009 7:28 AM
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