Russell pointing upwards
The Russell 2000 futures are up this morning, signifying the small-cap index will open in positive territory helped by news of an increase in mortgage applications.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's index, which gauges the volume of applications for mortgages to purchase new homes, rose 8.1% to 656.5 from a level of 607.1 last week. The group’s refinance index, a measure of the amount of loans refinanced, also increased 9.1% to 1881.1 from 1724.1 the previous week.
Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) are trading higher ahead of the bell and lifting sentiment after the world's largest maker of computer-networking equipment reported it is raising its sales forecast on demand for high-speed Internet gear and Web-based phone systems.
In contrast, Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) reported that quarterly earnings tumbled 95% on account of higher expenditures and lower mobile profits. The wireline communications juggernaut recorded earnings of $0.01 per share. However, excluding items and amortization, earnings were $0.25 per share, while analysts on average were expecting $0.22 per share. The current quarter earnings compare with earnings of $0.10 per share for the second quarter of 2006.
Luxury-home builder Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) reported that its home-building revenue fell 21% in its fiscal third quarter to $1.21 billion from $1.53 billion in the same quarter last year, as the Horsham, Pa.-based company continues to grapple with the ongoing weak housing market.
Media conglomerate News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) is also expected to report its fiscal fourth quarter earnings today after the close. While results from its movie and broadcast television segments are expected to clock in flat, robust profit growth in its U.S. cable-TV networks and satellite broadcaster Sky Italia could offset those results.
