BOJ keeps interest rates flat, but flags rate hikes on rising inflation, GDP
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* HP gains as quarterly profit beats estimates
* Under Armour rises on Raymond James upgrade
* Deere warns of lower profit in 2020 on trade tensions
* Data shows U.S. economic growth picked up slightly in Q3
* Futures: Dow flat, S&P up 0.12%, Nasdaq gains 0.21%
(Adds comments, updates market action)
By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
open slightly higher on Wednesday, as latest data pointed to a
resilient domestic economy and investors remained optimistic
about a resolution to the prolonged U.S.-China trade war.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States was
in the "final throes" of work on an initial trade deal with
China, fueling hopes that an agreement could be reached before
the end of the year. The three major U.S. stock indexes have closed at record
highs in five of the past eight sessions on expectations of a
trade truce and a largely upbeat third-quarter earnings season.
"There's that drumbeat about an impending trade deal and
that's going to keep stocks moving higher," said Kim Forrest,
chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners in
Pittsburgh.
Data on Wednesday showed U.S. economic growth picked up
slightly in the third quarter, rather than slowing as initially
reported, while new orders for key U.S.-made capital goods
increased by the most in nine months in October. Investors now await the Commerce Department's consumer
prices report at 10 a.m. ET. The core personal consumption
expenditures price index, excluding volatile food and energy
components, is expected to have risen 0.1% in October after
remaining flat in the prior month.
At 8:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 3 points, or
0.01%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 3.75 points, or 0.12% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 17.75 points, or 0.21%.
Among stocks, HP Inc HPQ.N rose 1.7% in premarket trading
after the company posted quarterly earnings above analysts'
estimates, as higher sales of personal computers and
workstations helped counter weakness in its printer business.
Under Armour Inc UAA.N gained 3.7% as Raymond James
upgraded the sportswear maker's shares to "strong buy" from
"outperform".
However, shares of Deere & Co DE.N dropped 4.6% as the
farm equipment maker warned of lower earnings in fiscal year
2020 after posting a fall in quarterly profit, hurt by trade
tensions and poor weather in the U.S. farm belt that have slowed
equipment purchases by farmers. Trading volumes are expected to be light ahead of the
Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday and an early market close
on Black Friday.