Dow to Open Higher After Extended Weekend: Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) and More

LONDON — U.S. markets reopen today after yesterday’s Presidents Day holiday. Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EST indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average may open 0.11% higher this morning, while the S&P 500 may open 0.16% higher.

The only data in the cards this morning is February’s housing-market index, which is due at 10 a.m. EST and expected to read 49, up from 47 in January.

Corporate earnings may provide more interest for investors, and companies due to report earnings before markets open this morning include Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN), Watson Pharmaceuticals, Sealed Air Corp (NYSE:SEE), and Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE:MDT). Before 7 a.m. EST, Windstream Corporation (NASDAQ:WIN) reported a slight miss on fourth-quarter expectations with revenue of $1.54 billion and earnings per share of $0.11 versus expectations of $1.55 billion and $0.13.

Two of the day’s most keenly awaited earnings announcements won’t come until after the close tonight: Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), and Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF) are both due to report Q4 earnings after 4.30 p.m. EST. Dell is facing increasing opposition to its buyout deal, with several major shareholders claiming that the price is too low. Strong results today would strengthen their claims, while a weak set of results might make it look as if Dell is holding back good news until after the buyout is complete.

Nutritional-supplement maker Herbalife remains in the middle of a highly public argument between hedge fund manager William Ackman and activist investor Carl Icahn. Tonight’s earnings are likely to result in some additional share price volatility tomorrow. Finally, shares in OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE:OMX) and Office Depot Inc (NYSE:ODP) may also be actively traded today after press reports that the two companies are in the advanced stages of discussing a merger and may announce a deal this week. Shares in OfficeMax and Office Depot were up 19% and 28%, respectively, in premarket trading.

European markets
European markets moved higher this morning, helped by the German ZEW economic sentiment index hitting a 34-month high of 48.2, up from 31.5 in January. The index is based on a monthly survey of European economists who make predictions about the likely direction of different aspects of the German economy.

At 7 a.m. EST, the DAX, the CAC 40, the FTSE MIB, and the IBEX 35 were each up about 1%. In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.48%, helped by strong gains for Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered, which rose by 2.1% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to “overweight” and increased its target price. Heading down was Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD), which slipped 2.7% in morning trade to 162 pence after Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded the stock to “underperform,” citing European market weakness.

The article Dow to Open Higher After Extended Weekend originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Roland Head.

Roland Head owns shares in Vodafone, but does not own shares in any of the other companies mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares of Standard Chartered and Sealed Air. The Fool owns shares of and has Long call on Herbalife. The Fool owns shares of and has written covered calls on Medtronic. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Vodafone Group.

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