M A R K E T .. S N A P S H O T --
Market Snapshot
Data, retail sales may support stocks
By Julie Rannazzisi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 9:07 AM ET Jan 10, 2002
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- The futures markets staged an about face on Thursday and pointed to a higher open on the back of generally-better-than-expected news from the retailers as well as a big drop in jobless claims.
The retail sector -- a drag on the broader market Wednesday -- is tallying its monthly same-store sales results. Most retailers exceeded their own depressed expectations in December and were reaffirming their earnings targets for the fourth quarter.
In economic news, meanwhile, weekly jobless claims dropped 56,000 to 395,000 vs. the expected 429,000 level. The decrease brings the four-week claims average to 410,500, its lowest since the Sept. 11 attacks.
The futures markets lifted on the news but have since given back some upside: the March S&P 500 contract added 0.20 point but was trading about 1.60 points below fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. And Nasdaq futures sprinted 3.50 points, or 0.2 percent.
Among shares trading before the opening bell, Ford Motor (F) fell 33 cents in European trading to $15.98. The company was slapped with a downgrade from UBS Warburg to a "reduce" on belief its shares could fall below $14 this year. Warburg expects Ford to "struggle" to show earnings-per-share over $2 in the next three to four years and added that cash burn represents a large and current problem.
And shares of DaimlerChrysler (DCX) declined 2.4 percent. The German automaker denied an overnight report that it doesn't expect to meet its 2002 earnings target.
Dow stock General Motors (GM), which is holding a meeting with analysts in Detroit, said it expects to report earnings-per-share of 60 cents in the fourth quarter, surpassing the Wall Street consensus estimate by six cents. For 2002, the world's largest automaker expects to make $3 a share, excluding results from the Hughes operations. Thomson Financial/First Call currently expects a 2002 profit of $1.93 a share.
Government bond prices remained a sliver lower after staging a late-day turnaround on Wednesday.
The 10-year Treasury note was off 1/8 to yield ($TNX) 5.065 percent while the 30-year government bond backpedaled 2/32 to yield ($TYX) 5.50 percent.
In other economic news, import prices fell a record 8.9 percent in 2001 after a 0.9 percent decline in December while export prices declined 0.2 percent in the month. Check economic calendar and forecasts.
In the currency arena, the dollar erased 0.5 percent to 132.43 yen while the euro added 0.1 percent to 89.16 cents.
The Bank of England left its key short-term rates unchanged at 4 percent at its policy-setting meeting on Thursday. .
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