After shedding more than 1% yesterday equity futures have been volatile Thursday morning as investors anticipate earnings results and fresh economic data.
90 minutes before the bell futures on the Dow and benchmark S&P 500 are roughly flat.
Meantime, WTI Crude oil is up 5 cents to $77.79 per barrel and Spot Gold is off $6.39 to $1,104.66 per ounce.
Goldman Sachs is expected to see earnings per share of $5.20 in the fourth quarter, versus a loss of $4.97 a year ago, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. After the closing bell, Google is projected to post earnings of $6.45 per share.
Chinese real GDP rose at a better than expected pace of 10.7% in Q4, beating the previous quarter’s 9.1% increase.
WSJ: President Obama to announce new proposals on Thursday EST aimed at constraining the size and risk taken by the largest U.S. financials, according to the Journal’s congressional sources.
Later today, President Obama is anticipated to announce new rules aimed at limiting the risk-taking abilities of larger banks. The Wall Street Journal reports that the rules will limit “the size and risk taken by the country's biggest banks, marking the administration's latest assault on Wall Street in what could mark a return, at least in spirit, to some of the curbs on finance put in place during the Great Depression, according to congressional sources and administration officials.”
Key Events Today:
8:30 ― Initial Jobless Claims rose 11k last week but the downward trend remains clear. For the week ending January 16 analysts are looking for the weekly figure to fall 4k to 440,000, in line with the 4-week average. Economists generally believe a sustainable pace below 400k is consistent with monthly job creation.
“The near-continuous decline in the four-week moving average since April 2009 is a strong signal that the worst of the recession in the labor market has passed,” write economists from Nomura, adding this cautious note: “However, meaningful private sector job growth hinges on a pick-up in hiring activity, and to date there is little evidence that most firms are ready to add staff.”
10:00 ― The Leading Economic Indicators is designed to track turning points in the economy. In November the composite climbed 0.9% and to end the year economists are looking for a robust 0.7% figure, the ninth straight gain. Strength has been broad, stemming from a steep yield curve, falling jobless claims, an advance in building permits, and gains in the stock market.
“Positive contributions are anticipated to come from the S&P 500, initial jobless claims, consumer expectations and average weekly hours,” predict analysts from BBVA. “Furthermore, build permits are forecasted to post a modest increase, which will boost the index as well.”
10:00 ― Manufacturing conditions in the Philly Fed region is expected to improve in January but not by the same pace seen in December. Expectations range from +5.6 to +21.5 with the consensus at +18.0, two point below the November level. Some investors must have hope for a positive surprise though after the New York Empire State survey was significantly stronger than forecasts last week.
“The Philly Fed index has now had a healthy streak of increases and we expect a temporary correction this month,” said analysts from Nomura. “However, we expect the index to remain above the expansion/contraction threshold [that is, zero].”
11:00 ― US Treasury Department announces the terms and amount of next week's debt auctions. The Treasury is scheduled to sell 2 year notes, 5 year notes, and 7 year notes.
