U.S. futures higher ahead of data; Dow Jones up 0.47% ..

U.S. stock futures were higher on Tuesday, as data showed that the euro zone avoided a recession but concerns over political deadlock in Greece and the country’s potential exit from the euro zone continued to weigh on sentiment.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise 0.47%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.57% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.69% gain.

Official data showed that the euro zone avoided a recession in the first quarter, as gross domestic product growth remained flat, defying expectations for a contraction of 0.2%. The euro zone economy contracted by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Sentiment also found support after preliminary data showed that Germany’s economy expanded more-than-expected in the first quarter, indicating that the euro zone’s largest economy is weathering the effects of the crisis in the region.

But investors remained cautious amid fears that last ditch talks aimed at forming a government in Greece would fail after a more than week-long political stalemate fuelled fears over the country’s ability to uphold its financial commitments and its possible exit from the euro zone.

Financial stocks were expected to be active as JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon faces shareholders after the bank lost billions of dollars on trading and hedging strategies gone wrong. The bank announced a USD2 billion trading loss on Friday, prompting regulators to demand stiffer oversight for the banking industry.

The auto sector was also likely to be in focus following reports that General Motors, the largest U.S. automaker, is interested in buying Ally Financial Inc's international operations, sending GM shares up 0.22% in after hour trade.

Groupon shares surged 17.94% in late trading, after the company reported first quarter profit of two cents per share, higher than analysts’ estimates. Its revenue of USD559 million was also above expectations of USD531 million.

Elsewhere in earnings, Home Depot's first-quarter results came in line with expectations, at 65 cents a share, higher than 50 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Shares tumbled 2.97% in pre-market trade.

In corporate news, Coty Inc., the maker of perfumes by Beyonce Knowles, withdrew its sweetened USD10.7 billion offer for Avon Products Inc., saying the world’s largest door-to-door cosmetics seller refused to negotiate.

Meanwhile, investors were eyeing Facebook, as it increased the price range in Silicon Valley's biggest-ever initial public offering to raise more than USD12 billion, giving the No.1 social network a valuation potentially exceeding USD100 billion.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 advanced 0.43%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.70%, Germany's DAX rose 0.28%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.13%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.5%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.8%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and consumer price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.

 

Euro firms up but remains vulnerable on Greece ..

The euro pushed higher against its major counterparts on Tuesday, after better-than-expected German economic growth numbers helped support market sentiment but the single currency remained vulnerable amid ongoing concerns over a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.

During European late morning trade, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD gaining 0.26% to hit 1.2853.

The euro found support after preliminary data showed that Germany’s economy expanded more-than-expected in the first quarter, indicating that the euro zone’s largest economy is weathering the effects of the crisis in the region.

Germany’s gross domestic product grew by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the three months to March, above expectations for a growth of 0.1%.

A separate report showed that the ZEW index of German economic sentiment deteriorated significantly more-than-expected this month, declining for the first time in six months.

The ZEW Centre for Economic Research said that its index of German economic sentiment declined to 10.8, from April’s reading of 23.4. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 19.0 in May.

Meanwhile, official data showed that the euro zone avoided a recession in the first quarter, as GDP growth remained flat, defying expectations for a contraction of 0.2%. The euro zone economy contracted by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Sentiment on the single currency remained fragile amid fears that last ditch talks aimed at forming a government in Greece would fail after a more than week-long political stalemate fuelled fears over the country’s ability to uphold its financial commitments and its possible exit from the euro zone.

Greece’s GDP contracted at an annualized rate of 6.2% in the first three months of 2012, official data showed.

The single currency eased against the pound but remained within striking distance of a three-and-a-half year low, with EUR/GBP climbing 0.36% to hit 0.7996.

The pound was largely unchanged after official data showed that the U.K.’s trade deficit remained unchanged at GBP8.6 billion in March.

The euro higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY climbing 0.36% to hit 102.75 and remained little changed against the Swiss franc EUR/CHF dipping 0.01% to hit 1.2010.

Elsewhere, the shared currency was mixed against the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/CAD dipping 0.04% to hit 1.2866, EUR/AUD slipping 0.22% to hit 1.2848 and EUR/NZD rising 0.27% to hit 1.6554.

Earlier Tuesday, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s last meeting said that “the risks emanating from Europe continue to cloud the global outlook;” and added that “inflation is likely to remain in the lower half of the target range over the foreseeable future.”

On May 1, the RBA cut its benchmark interest rate to a two-year low of 3.75% to help boost growth.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and consumer price inflation, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in New York.

Forex - GBP/USD down on economic data ..

- The British Pound was lower against the U.S. Dollar on Friday after the release of U.K. data on PPI Input. GBP/USD was trading at 1.6119, down 0.16% at time of writing. The pair was likely to find support at 1.6068, Wednesday’s low, and resistance at 1.6199, Monday’s high. Earlier in the day, official data showed that Producer price inflation input in the U.K. fell more-than-expected to a seasonally adjusted -1.5% last month from 1.7% in the preceding month whose figure was revised down from 1.9%.

 

+