5 Things You Should Know Before the Stock Market Opens - NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were signaling a higher open for Wall Street Thursday but European stocks were faltering on further signs Greece could exit the euro currency. Asian shares ended trading Thursday slightly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.9% to close at 8,876.59. The U.S. economic calendar Thursday includes weekly initial and jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists ...

Crude Oil, Gold Look to US Earnings Calendar for Direction Cues - Commodity prices are little changed in early European trade, reflecting directionless risk sentiment trends projected via flat S&P 500 stock index futures. A quiet US economic calendar keeps the focus on the earnings calendar, with cycle-sensitive names including Halliburton and Dover as well consumption-trend proxies like Yum! Brands and American Express on tap.

Stock Futures Up as Housing Starts Rise - NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were rebounding Wednesday after a better-than-expected housing starts report helped divert some of the market's attention away from troubles in the eurozone. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were rising 63 points, or 70 points above fair value, at 12,668. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 7.8 points, or 7.8 points above fair value, at 1,336 ...

Stocks to Watch: Stocks to watch Thursday: Boyd, HollyFrontier - A gambling acquisition and a batch of dividend increases will likely grab investors’ attention as they sort through the corporate headlines early Thursday.

Is Facebook a Good Investment? - How does Facebook stack up as an investment? A number of stock analysts are predicting a bright future for the social networking giant, but they also warn of significant risks along the way.

Market Preview: Retrace or Retreat? - NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Where you think the U.S. stock market ends up this year likely depends on your view of the current action. Or more precisely, the determining factor could be viewed as which of these 'R' words you think is most accurate in describing the near-constant selloff in equities since the calendar flipped over to May: Retrace or retreat. John Stoltzfus, Oppenheimer's new chief ...

33 Key Earnings Reports To Watch Next Week, May 14 - 18 - The earnings calendar for the week ahead will be relatively quiet, but a number of bellwether companies will report results.

Asian stock markets jump on positive debt auction in Spain and strong US corporate earnings - BANGKOK - Asian stock markets rebounded Wednesday after a slew of solid earnings boosted Wall Street and a successful Spanish bond auction eased worries over Europe's debt crisis. Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 2 per cent to 9,655.83 as its formidable export sector benefited from a weakening yen. S

U.S. stock index futures point to more losses - * U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower opening onWall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones down around 0.1 percent, while the Nasdaq100 fell 0.4 percent at 0810 GMT. * ...

Apple's Stock Tumbles, But Earnings Report Could Change That - CUPERTINO, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Apple has had an eventful few weeks. Hot on the heels of the tech company's big iPad launch, Apple dived back into dividends and reached $600 billion in market value for the first time. And then the shares took a headline-grabbing tumble. Since hitting an all-time high of $644 on April 10, Apple's stock has slid more than 12%. Still, analysts have faith in the ...