April 10, 2013-Stocks Look t Extend Gains on Encouraging China Data

Wall Street looks set to extend its gains, as global data points continue to be encouraging. The U.S. index futures point to a higher opening on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, China reported trade data, showing a strong increase in imports. Meanwhile, French industrial production rebounded by more than expected in February. These positive data should serve to dispel some of the doubts surrounding the economic outlook. The earnings flow is yet to pick up. Against this backdrop, the overbought markets could focus on the minutes of the March monetary policy meeting, as they seek direction. The Dow futures are moving up 38 points, while the S&P 500 futures are adding 4.60 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 10 points. After seeing some apprehension in the morning on Tuesday, U.S. stocks advanced, as the markets reacted positively to the Chinese inflation and U.K. industrial output data and Alcoa's (AA) mostly positive results. On the economic front, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota will moderate a panel at the Atlanta Fed conference at Stone Mountain, Georgia at 8:30 am ET. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its petroleum inventory report for the week ended April 5th at 10:30 am ET.