Stock futures are hovering near long-term highs this morning as investors continue to hope for stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
The main indexes little changed slightly, following small gains in Europe and Asia. The strength overseas is a continuation of optimism that began yesterday afternoon when the minutes of the Fed's last meeting reported that "additional monetary accommodation would likely be warranted fairly soon" unless the economy improves. St. Louis Fed president James Bullard separately said conditions have been getting better since the meeting took place.
Those expectations will be tested at 8:30 a.m. today when the Labor Department reports initial jobless claims. Economists expect a reading of 365,000.
Foreign exchange and commodities are also up slightly. The euro is inching higher against the dollar, while the yen is lower. The most noteworthy move is in metals as gold advances more than 1 percent and silver gains more than 2 percent. Copper is also strong, while oil and most agricultural foodstuffs are posting smaller gains.
In company-specific news, Hewlett-Packard reported a huge loss and lowered its outlook amid continued weak PC demand. The news came one day after an almost-identical release from rival Dell.
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