U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

U.S. stock futures are flat in the first hour of trading on higher inflation data.
The major averages keep high levels of trading with the Nasdaq in the lead, rising 0.3%

The computer hardware sector rebounded after declining more than 3% Tuesday on Gateway earnings report.

Gold sector lost ground on strengthening dollar, falling 1.5%.
Housing stocks also have a weak trading session, going down almost 1%.

In the stock market

Nordstrom, luxury retailer, reported 2Q earnings of $148.9 million, or 53 cents a share vs. 37 cents a year ago on 7.8% revenue growth to 2.1$ billion with same-store sales increase of 6.2%.

Hewlett-Packard reported 3Q earnings of 36 cents a share excluding special items and exceeded expectations of 31 cents a share.

Appliance Materials, chip maker, posted 3Q 27% sales and 16% earnings decline on industry slowdown. The company earned $369.6 million, or 23 cents a share, down from $440.6 million, or 26 cents a share, beating estimates by a penny, but missing revenue forecasts of $1.65 billion.

Big Lots posted wider 2Q loss of 12 cents a share, mainly attributable to charges

Other companies expected to report today are:
Ross Stores, Medtronic, Network Appliance

ECONOMIC NEWS

The wholesale price index reported largest increase in nine months of 1% during July. Many of the factors driving the wholesale inflation are the same that are driving the consumer price inflation.

The wholesale index measures the rate of inflation before it reaches at the consumer level.

The only difference between the two reports was that the automobile prices declined in the consumer price inflation by 1% whereas at the wholesale level measurement they increased by 1%.

The PPI data showed that the prices rose for energy by 4.4%, electricity by 0.7%, gasoline by 10.9%, natural gas by 3.7% but for food dropped by 0.3%. The prices for pharmaceuticals rose by 1.3%.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Asian benchmarks closed broadly down, reflecting U.S. markets decline overnight, oil prices and profit-taking. The Nikkei had a day of volatile trading. It opened lower, following losses in Wall Street, later recovered on gains in banks and property developers and eventually finished the session down 0.35%. Among the decliners in the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was flat on blue chip losses, South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.3%, and Singapore’s Staits Times dropped 1.1%. The dollar traded in the upper 109-yen range.

European markets traded under pressure in the morning session, hurt largely by sharp overnight decline in U.S. averages and poor reception of Nestle and Adecco earnings reports. The German DAX 30 slipped 0.65% on merger and acquisition speculations in the telecom sector, the French CAC 40 dropped 0.48%, and London’s FTSE lost 0.56% after several major companies began trading without having dividend rights.

ENERGY, METALS AND CURRENCIES MARKETS

Oil prices slightly lowered to $66 a barrel ahead of U.S. report, expected to show another fall in gasoline stocks. U.S. contract for light sweet crude declined 8 cents to $66 a barrel. London Brent lost 17 cents to $64.91.