Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Premarket Watchlist and Market Round-Up
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Vical Incorporated (NASDAQ:VICL), Vivus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS), and OSI Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSIS) are three stocks to watch during today’s session as the market appears set for a higher open.
Story Stocks to Watch
- Vical Incorporated (VICL) – Shares of the biopharmaceutical company rose sharply higher in premarket trading after confirming the advantages of its DNA technology platform with vaccine for the H1N1 flu. The company announced the publication of data documenting the success of a pilot lot production and initiation of testing of a Vaxfectin-adjuvanted DNA vaccine for H1N1 influenza.
- Vivus, Inc. (VVUS) – Shares of the pharmaceutical company rose sharply higher in premarket trading after announcing that a New Drug Application (NDA) has been submitted to the FDA seeking approval of Qnexa, an investigational drug for the treatment of obesity, including weight loss and maintenance of weight loss, in patients who are obese or overweight with co-morbidities such as hypertension.
- OSI Systems, Inc. (OSIS) – Shares of the specialty electric systems designer rose sharply higher in premarket trading, extending the gains from its previous session. The company provides homeland security systems under the Rapiscan Systems trade name, and many investors believe that the company is well-positioned to benefit from the increase in demand for security solutions following the attempted terrorist attack.
Market Summary
U.S. markets are set to open higher ahead of key consumer sentiment data due out later today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading up 33 points at 10,520, the S&P 500 is trading up 4.2 points at 1,127.30, and the Nasdaq is trading up 4.5 points at 1,879.
Investors will be largely looking at consumer confidence figures for December to guide the day’s trading. The market is expecting a reading of 53.0, while economists are forecasting a slightly higher reading of 54.5 after last month’s lackluster reading of 49.5.
The U.S. dollar fell during the overnight session against the euro, but gained against the yen and cable. Crude oil fell $0.13 to $78.64 per barrel and natural gas jumped $0.01 to $6.00 per MMBtu. Meanwhile, gold fell $2.20 to $1,105.00 per ounce.
Overseas market also rallied during their respective sessions. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE rose 39.93 points to 5,442.34, Germany’s DAX rose 14.12 points to 6,017.04, and France’s CAC rose 22.41 points to 3,969.56. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 19.22 points to 21,499.44 and Japan’s Nikkei rose 3.83 points to 10,638.06.
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-- Written by David Breen
