By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Tesla, Baidu drop in premarket, while Cisco climbs
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures jumped Thursday, as
oil prices rose and markets used news of a cease-fire deal between
Russia and Ukraine as an excuse to push riskier assets higher.
But there was no real conclusion to the Greece debt deadlock
after talks, and market gains could hinge on retail sales data
coming later. Cisco Systems Inc. shares were popping higher in
premarket, but Tesla Motors Inc. was down, after each company
reported results Wednesday evening.
As the Ukraine news pushed out, futures for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJH5) jumped 71 points, or 0.4%, to 17,902,
while those for the S&P 500 index (SPH5) rose 6.5 points, or
0.3%, to 2,072.20.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine has agreed to a
cease-fire starting Sunday, news that gave the ruble a pop and
pushed stocks in Russia about 5% higher. European stocks also rose,
even as the situation over Greece's bid to negotiate new financing
remains unresolved. After six hours of talks in Brussels, eurozone
finance ministers kicked the can down the road, saying they'd keep
talking in coming days to try to come up with a plan.
Headlines and data: Markets have largely been ignoring Ukraine
thus far, noted Wouter Sturkenboom, senior investment strategist at
Russell Investments in London, in emailed comments. "And for the
U.S., it does not register really. I know the strong Cisco earnings
were well received, but that's it on the news front, really..."
But geopolitical headlines have been keeping stock markets
pinned down in recent sessions. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 (SPX)
closed flat at 2,068.53 in a choppy session. The index has
registered just a 0.6% gain, with the week nearly at an end.
Data has the potential to move markets for Thursday. Weekly
jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. January
retail sales is coming at the same time, with December business
inventories at 10 a.m. Eastern. Investors want to know if consumers
are spending the money they're saving on lower gas prices, could
get an answer in the data.
"We think that today's retail number could once again print
another negative reading today, given that consumer spending is
still suppressed," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at
AvaTrade.
Also read: What Wal-Mart got right in Canada and what Target
botched
Stocks to watch: Tesla(TSLA) was shaping up for a wild ride.
Shares fell over 5% in thin premarket trading after the
electric-car maker stunned Wall Street by reporting a
fourth-quarter adjusted loss of 13 cents a share.
See: Four takeaways from Tesla earnings
Shares of Cisco(CSCO) jumped 7% in premarket after the company
said fourth-quarter earnings nearly doubled to $2.4 billion, or 46
cents a share.
Shares of Apple Inc.(AAPL) rose 1% in premarket trade
Whole Foods Markets Inc.(WFM) rose nearly 3% in premarket after
the upscale grocer beat analysts earnings forecasts.
Baidu Inc.(BIDU) sank 9% in premarket after the Chinese search
engine's outlook missed estimates.
More companies report Thursday, including Kellogg Co.(K)(K) and
Pilgrim's Pride Corp.(PPC) ahead of the bell. After the close,
Groupon Inc.(GRPN) , Kraft Food Groups Inc.(KRFT) and American
International Group Inc. (AIG) will report.
Other markets: Oil prices (CLH5) shot up 3% to $50.39, and gold
(GCH5) also got a small pop. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index rallied
to a seven-year high as a weaker yen supported exporters.
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