Before the bell: Futures blended ahead of ECB, Jobs data; oil nears $146; NVDA plunges
Posted by: in Latest NewsFiled under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Deals, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX), General Motors (GM), Market matters, Economic data, Oil
Stock futures were mixed early Thursday morning, the last and shortened day of trading this week — markets will close at 1 p.m. EDT. Oil, again, has reached new highs as investors awaited the ECB decision on interest rate. Wall Street is also anxious about the upcoming jobs report, especially after Wednesday the ADP employment figures were worse than expected. Today’s session will likely be choppy.
Despite starting the day on a positive note Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended sharply lower after the ADP employment figures damped mood on the Street. Also, crude oil prices rose sharply and an analyst warned that General Motors (NYSE: GM) might have to consider bankruptcy at some point; GM stock shut below $10 a share. The Dow industrials tumbled 166 points, or 1.46%, entering bear territory — down over 20%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 53 points, or 2.32%, and the S&P 500, fell 23 points, or 1.82% - the only major index still not in bear territory.
Soon, at 7:45 a.m. EDT, the European Central Bank will announce its decision on interest rates. The ECB is widely expected to increase rates, which in turn could further weaken the dollar, driving oil prices higher.
Then, at 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department will release the June payroll figures. Economists anticipate the unemployment rate to fall to 5.4% from 5.5% last month, but job losses are expected to rise to 60,000 positions, up from 49,000 in Might, according to Briefing.com.
At 10:00 a.m., the June ISM services index will be released, and another decline is expected.
Meanwhile, oil prices neared $146 a barrel Thursday, another record high, on reports of declining U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran, as well as concern the ECB’s expected rate hike will weaken the dollar. After closing at $143.57 Wednesday, light, sweet crude for August delivery rose $2.28 to a record $145.85 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In corporate news, the Wall Street Journal reported that Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) continues looking for deals elsewhere while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) pursues it. The Journal stated Yahoo is pursuing deal speaks with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).
Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares are down over 20% in premarket trading after the chip giant stated it anticipates lower second-quarter revenue and gross margin due to weak demand and heightened competition.
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