Russell to open lower as oil bounces overnight
Small caps are expected to open lower, pulled down by an overnight bounce in crude oil prices and by a weak tone in overseas stock market trading. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was off about 0.5% in after-hours trading, which would translate to an opening near 729.50.
The existing home sales report is slated for release at 10:00 a.m. ET, and could stir some volatility in equities as it offers up the last piece of economic data to trade ahead of an extended weekend holiday in the United States, where markets are closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
In overseas action, most of the major stock market index products around the world were lower, although Japan eked out a gain of 0.2%. Hong Kong was down 1.3%, China off 0.9%, Taiwan down 1.9%, Australia down 1%, Singapore down 1.2% and Bombay lost 1.5%. The biggest decline was in Karachi, which shed 4.7% in response to a rate hike by the State Bank of Pakistan.
Large-caps of note overnight included Haliburton (NYSE:HAL), which was down about 0.5% on news that the firm would take over rival Expro International. Although Haliburton shares were off a tad, it marks the second consecutive day of large energy M&A in the spotlight, which could provide a supportive element to investor psychology.
Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) was up about 2% overnight, lifted by an analyst raising their target on the firm. Also, Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq:ISRG) was expected to climb Friday as the firm was named to replace Bear Stearns in the S&P 500.
