Aruba Networks, Inc. (ARUN) & The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI)’s Morning

LONDON — Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) may open up by 0.3% this morning, while the S&P 500 may also open 0.3% higher.

European markets moved higher this morning, with banks and natural-resources firms among the gainers. European carmakers such as Volkswagen AG (FRA:VOW) and Peugeot also rose following a report showing that new-car sales in the eurozone rose in April for the first time since September 2011. Surprisingly, one of the top three gainers was Spain, where new-car sales rose by 10.8% in April compared with the same period last year.

Today’s U.S. economic reports include the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index at 9:55 a.m. EDT; consensus forecasts indicate that the index may have risen to 77.5 in May from 76.4 in April. At 10 a.m. EDT, April’s leading-indicators report is expected to show a 0.3% increase following the 0.1% fall seen in March.

Today’s corporate earnings reports include Stage Stores Inc (NYSE:SSI) , which reported a 3.5% increase in quarterly sales to $379 million and an increase in comparable-store sales of 0.7%. However, the firm reported an adjusted loss of $0.02 per share for the quarter compared with an adjusted loss of $0.05 per share for the same period last year. Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE:DCI) is also scheduled to report before the opening bell and is expected to report earnings of $0.48 on revenue of $658 million, according to a FactSet survey.

In other corporate news, Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) is down by 21% in premarket trading after it missed its third-quarter earnings forecast and reported a loss of $20.2 million for the quarter ended April 30. Although Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) reported a 12% increase in revenue, it was sapped to an overall loss for the quarter by higher taxes and increased input costs and operating expenses. J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) is 1.3% lower in premarket trading after it reported a quarterly loss of $1.58 per share last night, more than double the $0.75 per-share loss reported for the same period last year. Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)‘s profit also came in below expectations yesterday: The PC maker reported first-quarter adjusted profit of $0.21 per share, down from $0.43 for the same period last year and missing consensus forecasts of $0.35 per share.

The article Dow Poised to Deliver Early Gains originally appeared on Fool.com.

Roland Head has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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