S&P futures vs fair value: +13.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +20.5.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Futures climb slightly higher on two key earnings reports and then have a muted response immediately after a recently released economic report. Housing starts came in at 1.187 million, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.175 million. Building permits came in at 1.152 million, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.150 million. Best Buy (BBY) reported third quarter earnings of $0.53, which was $0.12 better than the consensus estimate. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs reported fourth quarter earnings of $7.01, topping the consensus estimate of $6.61