U.S. futures pointed to a weak open on the Wall Street, after a report showed that the world's largest economy expanded less than forecast. Disappointing quarterly report from Ford also weighed on the sentiment.
Mini Dow industrial average futures fell 31 points to 12,653.00. The Nasdaq Futures inched 0.75 points lower to 2,452.50. Standard and Poor's 500 futures lost 3.80 points to 1,311.50.
On the economic front, U.S. gross domestic product - the value of all goods and services produced - grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, yet coming in below economists' expectations for a 3 percent increase. In the third quarter, real GDP grew 1.8 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported.
U.S. stocks ended in red on Thursday, reversing early gains, following a surprise drop in sales of new homes in December, offsetting better-than-expected data on orders for durable goods.
Hot Stocks: (F, JNPR, SBUX, SOA, RIG)
In premarket trading, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:
F) is down 6.0 percent in premarket after earnings came in lighter-than-expected in the fourth quarter. Operating earnings per share was $0.20, below consensus of $0.25 per share
Chevron Corp. (NYSE:
CVX) slid 1.02 percent, Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE:HON) fell 1.6 percent after reporting their results.
In other corporate news, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) dropped 1.9 percent in premarket to $47.37 after coffee maker raised its fiscal 2012 earnings view below consensus. The company lifted its annual earnings per share forecast to a range of $1.78 to $1.82, versus Wall Street view of $1.83 a share. SBUX said it earned $0.50 per share in the first quarter on revenue of $3.4 billion, beating expectations.
Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) slumped 8.8 percent in premarket after the company issued a weak forecast for the first quarter. The company also reported lower fourth-quarter earnings, blaming weak demand from service providers.
QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ:QLGC) rose 5.7 percent in premarket after the networking services provider posted better-than-expected third quarter results. Non-GAAP earnings per share were 36 cents on revenue of $152.7 million, above consensus of 34 cents and $150.2 million, respectively.
Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) jumped 6.7 in premarket after a U.S. federal judge ruled that BP PLC (BP) can't collect from the oilfield-services company part of the $40 billion in costs and losses in connection with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill.
Solutia (NYSE: SOA) soared 41.6 percent in premarket after the specialty chemicals maker agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical Co. for $4.7 billion including assumed debt, or $27.65 a share. Eastman will pay $22 in cash and 0.12 share for each share of Solutia. The deal represents a 42 percent premium over Solutia's closing price of $19.51 on Thursday.
Global Markets:
The European markets traded lower, with Germany's DAX down 0.19 percent to trade at 6,527.72. France's CAC40 lost 0.82 percent to 3,335.77. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.69 percent to 5,755.39.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil was trading lower by 0.06 percent at $99.64 per barrel. Gold declined 0.22 percent to $1,726.1 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro inched 0.08 percent lower against the U.S. dollar to 1.3099, and the British pound edged 0.07 percent higher against the greenback. The dollar lost 0.57 percent against the Japanese yen to 76.8800.