Stocks poised to open higher By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer Stocks poised to open higher By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer

Stocks poised to open higher By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer
33 minutes ago



NEW YORK - Stocks were poised to open higher Thursday, as Wall Street received some solid readings on corporate earnings and the U.S. job market.

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Investors remained cautious, however, knowing that sentiment could quickly turn on persistent worries that a tightening in U.S. lending could impede corporate and economic growth.

Traders were pleased that profits at companies such as Nokia Corp. and Lear Corp. came in better than expected, and that the Labor Department reported that jobless claims rose last week by a smaller number than economists predicted. The data was a promising sign that the U.S. job market is holding up ahead, especially since it comes before Friday's highly anticipated July employment report.

On Wednesday, the stock market rose sharply during the last 20 minutes of trading, after ricocheting all day due to ongoing jitters about U.S. home loans and the availability of corporate credit. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 150 points, after a similarly-sized drop in the previous session.

The blue chip index, now 4.6 percent below the record close it reached in early July, has seen triple-digit swings become the norm in recent weeks. Last week, the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index suffered their worst weekly losses in five years.

Before Thursday's opening, Dow futures expiring in September rose 41, or 0.31 percent, to 13,445. Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 6.00, or 0.41 percent, to 1,475.90. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 10.00, or 0.51 percent, to 1,970.50.

Bonds slipped, pushing the 10-year Treasury note's yield up to 4.80 percent from 4.79 percent late Wednesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, after the European Central Bank and the Bank of England kept their key interest rates steady Thursday. More rate boosts overseas could further injure the dollar, which is trading near multi-year lows against the euro and the British pound.

Several major earnings reports came in strong Thursday.

Nokia, the biggest cell phone maker in the world, said its second-quarter profit more than doubled on strong sales and that it had further increased its market share. U.S. shares of the Finnish company rose 7.5 percent in pre-market trading.

Automotive supplier Lear Corp. swung to a better-than-expected profit in the second quarter despite lower revenue, due to slashed costs. Shares rose 4.9 percent in pre-market trading.

Drug store chain CVS Caremark Corp. said its quarterly profit more than doubled, beating Street forecasts. Shares rose 2.3 percent in pre-market trading.

Profits at Eastman Kodak Co. and Viacom Inc. also surpassed Street estimates.

In takeover news, Advanced Medical Optics Inc. on Wednesday withdrew its $4.2 billion bid for rival eye care products maker Bausch & Lomb Inc., clearing the way for Bausch & Lomb to be bought for $3.67 billion by Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm.

And on Thursday, Fiserv Inc. said it agreed to buy CheckFree Corp. in an all-cash deal worth about $4.4 billion.

Crude oil futures fell 41 cents to $76.12 a barrel in preopening trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude has retreated from Tuesday's record close of $78.21 a barrel.

Gold prices rose.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.67 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dipped 0.05 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.5 percent.

In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.93 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.99 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.97 percent.

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