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BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Higher Before Key Data
By Barbara Kollmeyer
U.S. stock futures pointed slightly higher on Friday, but within tight ranges ahead of a key report expected to show the economy stopped shedding jobs for the first time in two years.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9 points to 10554, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.3 point to 1137.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 1.25 points to 1878.50.
Friday's focus falls on nonfarm payroll data, due at 8:30 a.m., EST. Economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting a rise of 15,000, against a previous month's fall of 11,000.
"Today may well hold the key to the Kingdom for the next few months," said David Buik, senior partner at BCG Partners in London. "Has the tide turned? Rarely has a piece of data ever been so eagerly awaited."
Christian Tegllund Blaabjerg, strategist with Saxo Bank, said in a market update on Friday that they too are expecting a "strong number," with gains of around 35,000 against consensus of a flat number, but that this also has a lot to do with seasonal adjustments.
Also out, are wholesale inventories for November, due at 10 a.m., EST, and consumer credit, due at 3 p.m., EST.
Stocks in focus for Friday include Apollo Group Inc. (APOL). Those shares fell nearly 5% in premarket trade after the company reported late Thursday that profit surpassed expectations, but also said it received a Department of Education report regarding concerns about its handling of federal funding.
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) could also be in the spotlight because of a report in The Wall Street Journal that it's set to pay its investment bankers bonuses that are near 2007 levels in order to reduce the recent number of defections.
Shares of Boeing Co. (BA) could see some pressure after Macquarie Equities Research downgraded the aerospace company to neutral from hold Friday, saying the stock is looking overvalued, trading at a 13% relative premium to its peers.
Some bleaker economic data came out of Europe on Friday. Unemployment in the 16-nation euro zone rose to 10% in November, up from 9.9% in October. That's the highest rate since August 1998, and in Spain, unemployment was 19.4%, Eurostat said.
European stocks were higher, riding on optimism ahead of the U.S. jobs data. Shares of Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and Barclays PLC (BCS) were up after an upgrade to buy from UBS AG (UBS).
The mood was upbeat in Asia as well overnight, with Japanese exporters helped by recent weakness for the yen and Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTX) shares surging in Hong Kong on an offer to take the company private.
The dollar was on firmer ground ahead of the payrolls data, but slipped some against the Japanese yen. Japan's newly appointed Finance Minister Naoto Kan backtracked overnight from comments a day earlier that were perceived to be talking down the yen. On Friday, he said the yen's exchange rate should be determined by markets.
Crude oil futures were down 28 cents to $82.36 a barrel, while gold futures were down $11.50 to $1,122.20 an ounce.
Bullish analyst comments boosted financial stocks, fueling an uptick in the broader market Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
The market was also buoyed by better-than-expected readings of retail sales and jobless claims but hurt by worries about interest rates.
-By Barbara Kollmeyer; 34 91 395 8131; [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2010 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
By Barbara Kollmeyer
U.S. stock futures pointed slightly higher on Friday, but within tight ranges ahead of a key report expected to show the economy stopped shedding jobs for the first time in two years.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 9 points to 10554, while those for the S&P 500 rose 0.3 point to 1137.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 1.25 points to 1878.50.
Friday's focus falls on nonfarm payroll data, due at 8:30 a.m., EST. Economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting a rise of 15,000, against a previous month's fall of 11,000.
"Today may well hold the key to the Kingdom for the next few months," said David Buik, senior partner at BCG Partners in London. "Has the tide turned? Rarely has a piece of data ever been so eagerly awaited."
Christian Tegllund Blaabjerg, strategist with Saxo Bank, said in a market update on Friday that they too are expecting a "strong number," with gains of around 35,000 against consensus of a flat number, but that this also has a lot to do with seasonal adjustments.
Also out, are wholesale inventories for November, due at 10 a.m., EST, and consumer credit, due at 3 p.m., EST.
Stocks in focus for Friday include Apollo Group Inc. (APOL). Those shares fell nearly 5% in premarket trade after the company reported late Thursday that profit surpassed expectations, but also said it received a Department of Education report regarding concerns about its handling of federal funding.
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) could also be in the spotlight because of a report in The Wall Street Journal that it's set to pay its investment bankers bonuses that are near 2007 levels in order to reduce the recent number of defections.
Shares of Boeing Co. (BA) could see some pressure after Macquarie Equities Research downgraded the aerospace company to neutral from hold Friday, saying the stock is looking overvalued, trading at a 13% relative premium to its peers.
Some bleaker economic data came out of Europe on Friday. Unemployment in the 16-nation euro zone rose to 10% in November, up from 9.9% in October. That's the highest rate since August 1998, and in Spain, unemployment was 19.4%, Eurostat said.
European stocks were higher, riding on optimism ahead of the U.S. jobs data. Shares of Deutsche Bank AG (DB) and Barclays PLC (BCS) were up after an upgrade to buy from UBS AG (UBS).
The mood was upbeat in Asia as well overnight, with Japanese exporters helped by recent weakness for the yen and Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTX) shares surging in Hong Kong on an offer to take the company private.
The dollar was on firmer ground ahead of the payrolls data, but slipped some against the Japanese yen. Japan's newly appointed Finance Minister Naoto Kan backtracked overnight from comments a day earlier that were perceived to be talking down the yen. On Friday, he said the yen's exchange rate should be determined by markets.
Crude oil futures were down 28 cents to $82.36 a barrel, while gold futures were down $11.50 to $1,122.20 an ounce.
Bullish analyst comments boosted financial stocks, fueling an uptick in the broader market Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.
The market was also buoyed by better-than-expected readings of retail sales and jobless claims but hurt by worries about interest rates.
-By Barbara Kollmeyer; 34 91 395 8131; [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 08, 2010 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
