Mixed US Stock Markets Show Investor Indecision
After two days of impressive sessions, the US stock index futures have turned mixed today, ahead of key jobs and services sector data. The data is expected to show continued improvement in the US economy. While futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 5 points to 10229, those for the S&P 500 slipped 0.20 points to 1097. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 2.25 points.
Investors and economists expect ADP employment numbers for January to show a smaller job loss of 30,000, as compared with a loss of 84,000 jobs in December. Moreover, the ISM non-manufacturing index is expected to improve to 51.0, up from 49.8 in the previous month.
Today, the media sector was in focus, with heavyweights Comcast Corp (NASDAQ: CMCSA), News Corp (NASDAQ: NWSA) and Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX) reporting their results. While CMCSA doubled its profits, NWSA and TWX returned to profitability in their latest quarter. Impressive results drove up CMCSA shares by 2.2% in premarket trade. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) shares slipped 1.9%, despite a jump in profits at the drug giant to $767 million, as the results lagged the consensus expectations.
European shares edged higher, ahead of a decision on Greece's stability program, with miners and banks offsetting earnings-related weakness from Roche Holding AG (RHHBY, ROG.VX) and Electrolux AG.
Meanwhile, European equities moved up on the back of banks and miners, which were driven by firm metal prices. The pharma sector, which slipped after Roche missed the full-year profit forecasts, showed weakness in Europe. The Asian markets also rose, led by energy and resources stocks.
Gold also gained today and was trading around $1117.70 an ounce, as the dollar saw extended losses against the euro.
