Reply #18: Bulls believe in Santa rally [View All]

Stocks look to continue December strength as futures point up ahead of new economic readings.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/12/21/markets/stockswatch/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks looked poised to get back on track Thursday ahead of some new economic readings, another sign of the strength seen in the markets most of this month.

Stock futures, which predict the direction of stocks, were up in early trading. Stocks have been seeing the so-called end of the year Santa Clause rally with a number of record highs for the Dow Jones industrial average. But after trading in record high territory much of the day Wednesday, a late sell-off caused them to close slightly lower on the day.

At 8:30 a.m. ET the Commerce Department will give its final reading on gross domestic product in the third quarter. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that broad measure of the nation's economic activity grew at an annual 2.2 percent percent, unchanged from its previous reading. The Labor Department also will report initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m.

At 10 a.m. ET research firm The Conference Board will release its report on leading economic indicators, which economists are forecasting rose at 0.1 percent for November, down from a 0.2 percent rise in October. And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will report on business conditions in its region in December at noon.

In corporate news, Nike (Charts) said Wednesday that quarterly net profit rose nearly 8 percent, beating Wall Street estimates. But shares slipped 1.5 percent in after-hours trading after gaining 3.7 percent before the bell on hopes of an even stronger report.

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