9:15AM U.S. stock futures turned higher on inflation data.
U.S. stock futures moved slightly higher, lifted by upbeat earnings reports and data which showed that core inflation declined. The Commerce Department said that U.S. consumer spending grew 0.3% in March while inflation pressures declined. Personal income rose 0.7% in March, higher that the 0.6% expected by analysts. Core inflation was flat in March.

Among pre-market highlights, RadioShack (RSH: chart) jumped 8.2% after it posted Q1 earnings rise on lower costs. The electronics retailer said net income jumped to 31 cents per share, up from 6 cents a year earlier, beating estimates of a profit of 14 cents per share. Humana (HUM: chart) posted a 15% drop in Q1 profit but beat analyst expectations. The health insurer also raised its full-year earnings forecast.

In other corporate news, Merrill Lynch (MER: chart) said it would buy back $6 billion in shares. Yahoo (YHOO: chart) agreed to buy the 80% it didn't already own of Right Media for $680 million in cash and stock. Yahoo shares were flat. S&P 500 futures rose 1.7 points at 1,503.60 while Nasdaq 100 futures were down a half point at 1,906.25. Dow industrial futures rose 3 points. Stock futures moved higher after the economic data was released.


9:00AM Asian markets finished mixed with China and Australia rallying.

Asian markets ended mixed on Monday. The Shanghai Composite ended up 2.17% at 3,841.27.

Financial markets in Japan are closed Monday, Thursday and Friday for public holidays. Markets in China will be closed from Tuesday till the end of the week for a public holiday and will reopen on May 8.

In China, the central bank of China announced over the weekend it will raise bank reserve requirement ratio, the share of deposits banks must keep on reserve, by 0.50 percentage points beginning May 15. Aluminum Corp. of China, the mainland largest producer of the alloy, soared more than threefold in first-day trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Hong Hang Seng Index ended down 1.01% at 20,318.98. Among shares of mainland banks traded in Hong Kong, China Construction Bank dipped 1.5%, while Industrial & Commercial Bank of China shed 0.9%. China Mobile, the world largest cellular operator by revenue, fell 1.5% in Hong Kong.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.23% higher to close at 6,166.00. Paladin Resources declined 0.1% after the mining company announced development of its uranium projects could generate revenue of about $2.8 billion between now and 2012. Among resource shares, BHP Billiton gained 0.7%, while rival Rio Tinto added 0.3%.

In Seoul, the Kospi Index edged down 0.02% to close at 1,542.24. The index was weighed down as investors sold export-related shares such as Samsung Electronics amid data showed the U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter. Shares of Samsung Electronics, South Korea's largest exporter, fell 1.4%.

Elsewhere around the region, Singapore Straits Times Index shed 1.08% to 3,361.89 and Taiwan Weighted Price Index lost 0.93% to close at 7,875.42.


8:15AM Verizon Communications posted Q1 profit decrease.
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ: chart) posted Q1 earnings of $1.5 billion, or 51 cents a share, compared with a year-ago profit of $1.63 billion, or 56 cents a share. The latest results include an extraordinary loss of $131 million, or 5 cents a share, related to the Venezuelan government''s nationalization of telecommunication services. The company said its net income before special items came to $1.63 billion or 56 cents a share, down from profit of $1.75 billion, or 60 cents a share last year.

Operating revenue rose 6.4% to $22.58 billion from $21.23 billion a year ago. Analysts had been expecting a profit of 53 cents a share on revenue of $22.49 billion. The company said its Verizon Wireless operations helped increase the company''s total number of customers by 14.5% to 60.7 million. Verizon also said it expects strong demand for its FiOS TV offering, adding a net 141,000 new customers in the quarter. The stock added 1.2% in pre-market trading.


8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex ends slightly lower on a late recovery.

The Sensex on BSE finished 36.21 points, or 0.26%, lower at 13,872.37.

The market-breadth was positive as there were close to three gainers for every two decliners. As 1,403 stocks advanced, 1,071 declined and 75 stocks remained unchanged. Of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 18 advanced, while the rest declined. The turnover on BSE was Rs 3,255 crore, lower than RS 3,770.65 crore on Friday. On NSE, the turnover was Rs 7571.21 crore, compared with Rs 8,222.24 crore on Friday.

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