News Summary for June 30, 2011

This is your Benzinga news summary and traders' outlook for Thursday, June 30, 2011, covering headlines from overnight and Thursday's pre-market session. Today in domestic pre-market trading, U.S. equity futures are trading higher and the U.S. dollar lower after Greece voted yesterday to cut spending in an effort to receive fiscal support. Overseas, European and Asian equity markets rose after Greek Parliament passed the vote on austerity measures necessary to receive emergency funding. Most world equity markets were positive on the day, with the most notable mover being Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, which is trading over 1.5% higher on the session. The European Central Bank foreshadowed a rate hike in early July as inflation data in June came in well higher than what the bank was expecting. On the economic calendar today, weekly jobless claims data are set to be reported at 8:30 a.m. ET. Also, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for the period of June is due at 9:45 a.m. On the commodity front, gold and silver futures are relatively unchanged. Silver is posting early gains of 0.5%. Energy futures are also trading lower with natural gas being the most notable mover, currently down over 1%. Copper is trading over 0.5% higher. Corn futures are up a few cents to over $6.53/bu. Finally, wheat is nearing highs of $6.76/bu. On the earnings front, McCormick MKC reported a second quarter EPS and revenues beat, with EPS coming in one cent higher than what The Street was expecting. However, McCormick cut its fiscal year EPS guidance to $2.74-2.79 vs. the $2.83 analysts' estimate. Constellation Brands STZ reported first quarter EPS two cents higher than what The Street was expecting. The company also reaffirmed fiscal 2012 guidance. In corporate news, British bank Lloyds' LYG new CEO plans to cut 15,000 jobs. The CEO expects this plan will save about 1.5 billion pounds a year by 2014. Today after the close, several companies are due to release earnings, including Apollo Group APOL, Darden Restaurants DRI, Mitel Networks MITL, and Xyratex XRTX. This concludes your news summary for June 30, 2011.