By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures were higher on
Thursday as well-received earnings lifted shares of Facebook Inc.
and Ford Motor Co. on a busy day for corporate results.
Weekly jobless claims came in far better than expected, as the
number of people claiming benefits fell to the lowest level since
February 2006.
Strong data out of China also underpinned gains across global
markets, while in the U.S., investors will be waiting on data that
could show a potential drop in new-home sales.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) rose 24
points to 17,049, while those for the S&P 500 (SPU4)(SPU4)
added 2.9 points to 1,983.70. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NDU4)
gained 10 points to 3,985.50.
Ford(F) shares rose 1.8% in premarket after the car maker beat
earnings expectations. General Motors Co. (GM.XX) profit sank 80%
as the auto maker was hit by recalls. Adjusted earnings matched
analyst expectations. Shares were 2% lower in premarket.
Among the decliners, Shares of TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) sank 11%
in premarket and Angie's List Inc. (ANGI) tumbled 21% after those
companies separately reported late Wednesday.
Among the early reporters Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) shares dropped
2.8% after the maker of manufacturing equipment said sales fell
short of expectations in the second quarter, but the company raised
its earnings outlook again.
Shares of Facebook(FB) jumped more than 7.7% in premarket action
after profit and sales beat expectations. Gilead Sciences
Inc.(GILD) posted strong second-quarter results, lifting shares 1%
in after-hours trading.
Qualcomm Inc.(QCOM) was under pressure after the wireless-tech
company noted some worries about licensees in China, even as it
lifted its full-year adjusted earnings outlook. Shares fell more
than 5% in premarket. For more on Thursday's notable movers, read
our Mover & Shakers column.
The biggest piece of data for Thursday could be new-home sales,
and economists polled by MarketWatch are expecting the annualized
sales pace of new single-family homes dropped to 475,000 in June,
from a big 504,000-jump in May. The data is due at 10 a.m. Eastern
Time.
The number of people who applied for regular state
unemployment-insurance benefits in the week that ended July 19
tumbled by 19,000 to 284,000 -- the lowest level since February
2006 -- signaling that companies have further slowed down the pace
of layoffs and are letting go of few workers, according to
government data released Thursday.
After several days of flip-flopping between gains and losses,
the S&P 500 index (SPX) index logged its 26th record close this
year on Wednesday, boosted by well-received results from Biogen
Idec Inc. (BIIB) and Apple Inc. (AAPL).
Outside of a loss for the Nikkei 225 index , Asian stocks rose
across the board Thursday with a 1.2% gain for the China Shanghai
Composite , after a preliminary reading of Chinese manufacturing
data from HSBC hit an 18-month high. European stocks gained across
the board amid a big earnings day there.
Crude-oil (CLU4) edged lower along with gold prices (GCQ4),
while the dollar (DXY) steadied.
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