Deere & Company (DE), Macy’s, Inc. (M): Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) Edges Higher Ahead of U.S. Industrial Data

LONDON — Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones Indices:.DJI) may open up by a mere four points this morning, while the S&P 500 may open less than a point lower. The CNN Fear & Greed Index has continued to rise and is currently reading 87 out of a possible 100, suggesting that investors remain very bullish.

European markets are fairly flat this morning after the latest eurozone GDP figures showed that France had fallen back into recession and Germany’s economy had grown by just 0.1% during the first quarter, short of the 0.3% forecast by economists. Today’s figures show that the eurozone economy shrank by 0.2% in the first quarter, as many of the region’s largest economies contracted.

U.S. investors will be focusing on a raft of domestic economic reports that are due for release this morning. At 8:30 a.m. EDT, the Producer Price Index for April is expected to show that prices fell by 0.7% last month after falling by 0.6% in March. Also at 8:30 a.m. EDT, Core PPI is expected to have risen by 0.2%, while the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for May is expected to read 3.0, down from 3.1 in April. At 9:15 a.m. EDT, April’s industrial-production figures are expected to show that output fell by 0.3% in April after rising by 0.4% in March. Finally, at 10 a.m. EDT, the homebuilders’ index for May is expected to have risen to 44, up from 42 in April.

Several notable companies are due to update investors with their latest quarterly earnings this morning. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) reported a 9% increase in revenue and earnings per share of $2.76, up by 6% from the same period in 2012. Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) is also expected to report its latest results before the opening bell this morning, with analysts forecasting quarterly earnings of $0.53 per share. Other companies due to report before markets open include Arctic Cat, Computer Sciences, and GasLog. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is due to report its latest quarterly earnings after the closing bell, with consensus forecasts indicating earnings of $0.49 per share.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) may also be actively traded when markets open this morning — the stock moved lower in German trading this morning after Bloomberg reported that Lone Pine Capital had reduced its holding in the entertainment company.

The article Dow Edges Higher Ahead of U.S. Industrial Data originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Roland Head.

Roland Head has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of Arctic Cat and Walt Disney.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.