U.S. Stock Futures RiseReported by SmartMoney.com on Thursday, 24 May 2012 (on May 24, 2012)
|
By William L. Watts U.S. stock index futures edged higher Thursday as investors awaited data on weekly jobless claims and digested a round of weak economic surveys from China and Europe. More than two hours before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 44 points higher at 12510. S&P 500 futures rose 4.6 points to 12510, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 8.5 points to 2549. Changes in futures don't always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.A series of closely watched surveys on economic activity in China and Europe and other data proved mostly weaker than expected Thursday. Private-sector output across the 17-nation euro zone contracted in May at its sharpest pace since mid-2009, according to a "flash" purchasing managers' index produced by Markit. The composite PMI reading fell to a 35-month low of 45.9 from 46.7 in April. A reading of less than 50 indicates a contraction in activity. Meanwhile, the Ifo Institute's closely-watched gauge of German business confidence tumbled more than expected to a six-month low at 106.6. "May's business surveys confirmed the picture of falling economic activity in the euro zone as a whole and suggest that the downturn has now really hit Germany," said Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics in London. Additionally, Britain's Office for National Statistics downwardly revised its estimate of first-quarter U.K. gross domestic product to show a 0.3% quarterly contraction versus an initial estimate of a 0.2% drop. Earlier, the HSBC flash PMI for China's manufacturing sector dropped to 48.7 in May from 49.3 in April. Asian equities finished mostly lower, but European markets shook off initial losses to push back into positive territory. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.4%, bouncing back from a steep loss on Wednesday. A summit meeting of European Union leaders Wednesday night produced no fresh agreement on how to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of other triple-A-rated countries continue to resist calls to issue joint euro bonds in an effort to bring down borrowing costs for the region's most debt-strapped countries. Leaders stressed their desire to see Greece remain in the euro zone, but emphasized the country's next government must abide by the terms of its latest bailout package. On the economic front, data on weekly jobless claims is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. April durable-goods figures are also due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Wall Street recovered from heavy early losses to post a mixed finish on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 6.66 points lower at 12496.15. The S&P 500 gained 2.23 points to close at 1318.86, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 11.04 points to 2850.12. Nymex crude-oil futures rose 68 cents to $90.58 a barrel in electronic trade. Gold futures rose $12 to $1,560.40. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of major rivals, was little changed at 82.101. The euro traded at $1.2572 versus the dollar, a 0.1% loss. The U.S. unit fell 0.1% versus the Japanese yen to trade at �79.41. ...
Links:  Full news story
|
|
|
| Recent related news |
| |
DailyFinance
4 hours ago | Filed under: Investing
LONDON -- Dividend income accounts for around two-thirds of total returns,... |
DailyFinance
7 hours ago | Filed under: Investing
LONDON -- Shares in *United Utilities* climbed 1% in early trade to... |
DailyFinance
17 hours ago | Filed under: Investing
LONDON -- Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the *Dow Jones... |
Zero Hedge
17 hours ago | Once again: The FOMC minutes had nothing to do with overnight's events, especially since both Ben... |
Zero Hedge
18 hours ago | Yesterday afternoon, following the rout in the US stock market, we made a spurious preview of the... |
| |
DailyFinance
1 day ago | Filed under: Investing
LONDON -- Picking good stocks is quite an art, but what about bad stocks?... |
Proactive Investors
2 days ago | Canadian shares stretched this year's gains on Wednesday, fueled by gains across most major sectors... |
guardian.co.uk
2 days ago | A tenth of UK households now own at least £1m in assets. But the bubble will burst – and we'll... |
DailyFinance
2 days ago | Filed under: Investing
LONDON -- Stock index futures at 7:30 a.m. EDT indicate that the *Dow Jones... |
Proactive Investors
3 days ago | U.S. stock market futures shifted lower on Tuesday as investors look for more clues on any tapering... |
| |
|
|
Facebook
E-mail
Twitter
Mixx
StumbleUpon
FriendFeed