Morning Outlook

Futures are pointing to a rebound on Thursday on strong earnings. The street will also get data on existing home sales, leading indicators, and of course it is Thursday so weekly jobless claims will be released in the premarket. As you can tell it is a busy day on the street as Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 118, or 1.2 percent, to 10,176. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 14.50, or 1.4 percent, to 1,078.40, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 19.50, or 1.1 percent, to 1,835.00. The earnings list includes 3M Co.(MMM) , American Express Co.(AXP) , Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) and Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) and bellwether United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS)

Equities tumbled in afternoon trading on Wednesday on testimony from fed chairman Ben Bernanke on the state of the economy and the lack of specifics the central bank has to combat the deflationary environment we are facing. The DJIA lost 109.51 points, or 1.07 percent, to 10,120.45. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 13.91 points, or 1.28 percent, to 1,069.57, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 35.16 points, or 1.58 percent, to 2,187.33.

Currencies and Commodities

The dollar fell 0.2111% at 86.8650 yen in the currency market. The euro appreciated 0.9203% at $1.2871 while the pound gained 0.6792% to $1.5267. Gold lost $4.30 at $1187.50, while silver was flat at $17.80. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 30 cents to $76.95 per barrel on the NYMEX; a 0.51% advance.

Economic Calendar

8:30 AM
Jobless Claims: New unemployment claims for the week of July 17th , to show the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. The fewer people filing for unemployment benefits, the more have jobs, the more income in the consumer’s pocket, as well as a forecast on the strength of the economy. The consensus is for an increase of 450,000 for first time jobless claims after falling 29,000 to 429,000 . The four-week average fell last week by fell 11,750 to 455,250 to the lowest level since May.

10:00 AM
Existing Home Sales: The number of previously constructed homes, condominium and co-ops in which a sale closed during the month. The consensus for June is a 5.26 million unit annual rate, which is a decrease from a pace of 5.66 million in May, where sales fell 2.2% in the month from April’s 5.79 million. Supply on the market stands at 8.3 months following the April expiration of the home buyer tax credit. The consensus range goes as low as 4.8 million units up to 6.2 on the high end.

10:00 AM
Leading Indicators: A composite index of ten economic indicators that should lead overall economic activity. The consensus is for an decrease of 0.2% for the month of June led by dropping equities and building permits. The reading follows an increase of 40 basis points in May.