(By Balaseshan) U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a lower opening
on the Wall Street as investors were unable to digest
weaker-than-expected growth data from Europe, France and Japan.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures fell 36 points to 13,922. The
Nasdaq futures shrank 9.50 points to 2,760.75. Standard and Poor's 500
futures declined 4.40 points to 1,512.80.
On the domestic economic
front, the number of Americans who continued to receive jobless
benefits rose more than forecast last week, a government data showed.
Jobless claims declined 27,000 to 341,000 for the week ended Feb. 9 from
a revised 368,000, while economists projected a fall to 360,000
applications.
Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo, Treasury Under Secretary
Mary Miller and other officials are scheduled to testify on Wall Street
reform before the Senate Banking Committee at 10:30 am ET.
On the
European front, the eurozone slipped deeper than predicted into
recession in the fourth quarter due to weaker than expected GDP figures
from Germany and France. Data showed the recession in the euro area
deepened with the worst performance in almost four years, according to
the Bloomberg.
Japan's GDP shrank 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, while
economists expected 0.1 percent growth. French statistical office INSEE
reported that French GDP fell 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter from
last quarter, compared to the 0.2 percent drop expected by economists.
Germany also reported a weaker than expected 0.6 percent GDP decline for
the fourth quarter.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended on a mixed note as investors weighed
on economic data, earnings reports and the President Barack Obama's
State of the Union address.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: HNZ, CSCO, AMAT, LCC, WTW, CTL, PEP, DTV, GM
H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) surged 19.82 percent in premarket after
the company has agreed to be bought by an investment consortium
comprised of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) and 3G Capital for $28
billion, including assumption of debt.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) moved down 0.19 percent in
premarket after the company reported a 44 percent jump in second-quarter
earnings on strong sales growth. Results exceeded the Street's
expectations. For the third quarter, the company guided adjusted
earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48 to $0.50 and adjusted revenue growth
of 4 percent to 6 percent, while Street predicts EPS of $0.49 on revenue
growth of 5.50 percent.
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) added 2.03 percent in premarket
after posting better than expected first quarter results. Further, the
company guided second quarter adjusted EPS of $0.09 to $0.15 and net
sales sequential growth of 15 percent to 25 percent Street predicts EPS
of $0.10 for the second quarter.
US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) gained 3.34 percent in premarket
after the board of directors of American Airlines Inc. and US Airways
have agreed to combine businesses to create a premier global carrier,
which will have an implied combined equity value of about $11 billion
based on the price of US Airways' stock as of February 13, 2013.
Weight Watchers International Inc. (NYSE: WTW) fell 15.82 percent in
premarket after the company guided fiscal 2013 earnings below market
expectations despite better than projected fourth quarter results.
CenturyLink
Inc. (NYSE: CTL) plunged 18.09 percent in premarket after the telecom
company's fourth quarter results missed market expectations and it
planned to drop quarterly dividend by 26 percent. The company also
guided full year 2013 earnings guidance below Street's view.
PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) added 2.03 percent in premarket after the
company reported a rise in earnings for the fourth quarter as organic
revenue increase across its divisions. Despite adjusted earnings
declining by 5.2 percent, results topped market expectations.
DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) rose 3.54 percent in premarket after the
provider of direct-to-home (DTH) digital television services reported
higher quarterly earnings and revenue amid a drop in net subscriber
additions at its U.S. segment. Results exceeded Street's expectations.
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) moved up 0.10 percent in premarket
after the automaker posted better than expected fourth quarter results.
Global Markets
European
markets traded lower, with Germany's DAX down 0.87 percent to trade at
7,645.14. France's CAC40 shed 0.56 percent to trade at 3,677.85. The
U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.54 percent to trade at 6,324.52.
Asia markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.57
percent to end at $2,432.40. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.85 percent
to close at 23,413.25. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.50 percent to end at
11,307.28. India's Sensex closed at 19,497.18, down 0.57 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan
Ahead of the
opening bell, crude oil futures traded 0.16 percent higher at $97.17 per
barrel. Gold futures inched 0.41 percent higher to $1,649.16 per ounce.
In
the currency market, the euro fell 0.88 percent against the U.S. dollar
to 1.3333, while the British pound shed 0.19 percent to 1.5513. The
dollar slid 0.06 percent against the Japanese yen at 93.3300.