Stocks preparing to ease into holiday
Stocks were set for a flat start in Wednesday’s holiday-shortened session ahead of key economic and oil inventory reports to be released later in the day.
At 6 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were little changed with a comparison to fair value. Dow futures were slightly higher.
Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and provide an indication of how markets will open when trading begins in New York.
Stocks fell Tuesday in another thinly traded session after two housing reports showed declines in sales of new and existing homes. A government report also showed the economy contracted in line with economists’ expectations.
Stocks in London and Paris were lower in morning trading, with Frankfurt closed for an extended holiday. Asian stocks finished mostly lower.
U.S. markets close at 1 p.m. ET for the start of the Christmas holiday. The markets are all shut Thursday for Christmas, and will be open all day Friday.
Jobs: Investors will get a glimpse into the embattled labor market Wednesday, as the Department of Labor will release its report on initial unemployment insurance claims at 8:30 a.m. ET. New jobless claims are expected to rise by 4,000 to 558,000, according to a consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Last week, initial claims fell slightly from a 26-year high set the week before.
Durable goods: New orders of durable manufactured goods are expected to fall for the fourth month in a row when the Census Bureau releases its report at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect goods orders to sink 3.1% after plummeting 6.2% in October – the biggest decline since 2006.
Personal spending and income: At 8:30 a.m. ET, the Commerce Department will issue its monthly report on November personal income and spending. Personal income is expected to be flat after a modest 0.3% increase in October, while spending is forecast to fall 0.8% after a decline of 1% the month before. October’s decline was the largest since 2001.
Oil inventories: A 10:35 a.m. ET Department of Energy report is expected to show crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.5 million barrels last week, according to analysts surveyed by information firm Platts. Oil investors also forecast a 900,000-barrel increase in gasoline supplies and a 1.4 million barrel increase in supplies of distillates, which are used to make diesel fuel and home heating oil.
Other markets: Light, sweet crude for February delivery was down 88 cents to $38.10 a barrel in premarket trading.
The dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.
Bond prices were mixed. The 5-year note fell after Tuesday’s record auction, but the benchmark 10-year note was up 8/32 to 114 5/32 with a yield of 2.15%.
Post Details
Posted on December 24, 2008
at 11:55 am
Written / posted by: Simon
Filed under: News