Earnings Gloom May Overshadow European Positives
– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a modestly lower opening on Friday, as the positive mood ushered in by a series of debt auctions by eurozone nations this week is being marred by insipid domestic developments. Financial giant JP Morgan Chase (JPM) reported fourth quarter profits that declined from a year-ago, as revenues fell short of estimates. The lackluster earnings report may cast clouds on the earnings lift the markets are hoping to get even as macroeconomic headwinds, especially pertaining to the sovereign debt scenario in Europe, are threatening market momentum. Traders now look ahead to a consumer sentiment data for further clarity.
A bond auction by Italy earlier today was not a disappointment, with the nation selling the entire 4.75 billion euros worth of bonds it had earmarked for sale. The yield was relatively benign and bid-to-coverage ratio was also fairly decent.
U.S. stocks advanced on Thursday as traders overlooked some soft data points and instead expressed happiness over the success of bond auctions by Spain and Italy. The major averages opened amid some nervous after retail sales growth trailed expectations and jobless claims rose sharply. After declining for much of the morning, the averages cut their loss, moving decisively into positive territory in late afternoon trading and closing modestly higher.
The Dow Industrials ended up 21.57 points or 0.17 percent at 12,471 and the S&P 500 Index rose 3.02 points or 0.23 percent before closing at 1,296, while the Nasdaq Composite Index ended at 2,725, up 13.94 points or 0.51 percent.
Twenty-two of the thirty Dow components closed higher, with Alcoa (AA), Caterpillar (CAT), DuPont (DD) and American Express (AXP) leading the gains. On the other hand, Chevron (CVX) and Bank of America (BAC) slipped 2.60 percent and 1.16 percent, respectively.
Airline, basic material and semiconductor stocks were among the best performing sectors of the session.
On the economic front, the number of individuals claiming unemployment benefits rose by 24,000 to 399,000 in the week ended January 7th, the highest level since the end of November. The four-week average climbed to 381,750 from the week-ago’s 374,000. Continuing claims climbed 19,000 to 3.63 million in the week ended December 31st.
A report released by the Commerce Department showed that retail sales rose 0.1 percent month-over-month in December. The previous month’s growth was upwardly revised to 0.4 percent from the initially estimated 0.2 percent increase. Sales, excluding autos, fell 0.2 percent, the first drop since May 2010.
Similar Posts:
- Stimulus Hopes, Data May Help Quell Market Anxiety
- Stocks May Benefit From Data, Reports Of ECB Bond Buying
- Markets Remain Optimistic On EU Deal
- Stocks Mixed in Spite of Generally Strong Tech Earnings (GE,INTC)
- Debt management may be focus as amount owed on credit cards fell in November
