A Peek Into The Market At The Start Of The Trading Day - Accenture (NYSE:ACN), BP (NYSE:BP)

Pre-open

US stock futures moved up today, after bank stocks rose across the board. The banks got a lift after Congressional negotiators agreed on banking reform rules that were not as harsh as feared. While futures on the S&P 500 added 4.6 points to 1075.10, those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 33 points. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100 futures reversed its earlier losses to move up 3.5 points to 1853.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

All European markets have opened in the red today. While the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.44%, FTSE 100 Index has slipped 0.52% in the early market trading. All major Asian bourses closed lower today, with Japan's Nikkei stock average losing 1.92%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipping 0.21% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declining 1.44%.

Breaking news

Wabco Holdings Inc WBC, a supplier to the commercial vehicle industry, has raised its forecast for the full year 2010 following the strong market developments across the majority of regions.
Accenture ACN released its fiscal third quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday. The company reported net income of $490.6 million or $0.73 per share compared to $444 million or $0.68 per share in the year ago quarter. To read the full story, click here.
Shares of BP PLC BP plummeted by as much as 9% in London today. The drop was the result of a comment made by an analyst related to the possibility of the company selling its stock to give assurance to its counter parties regarding its financial health. To read the full story, click here.
According to the latest data released by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), short sellers, who sell un-owned shares believing that they can buy them at a lower price later and keep the difference, have raised their bets against Citigroup C in the first half of June. To read the full story, click here.

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