By Ellie Ismailidou and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Facebook leaps after earnings; Under Armour soars
U.S. stock futures pared gains following a weaker-than-expected
reading on orders for durable goods, a day after the Federal
Reserve recognized a slowdown in the global economy.
Orders for long-lasting goods slid 5.1% in December
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/durable-goods-orders-slide-51-in-december-2016-01-28),
well below the 1.5% forecasted decline. The drop reflects a 12.4%
plunge in transportation orders and a 4.3% drop in so-called core
capital-goods orders.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims fell last week
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-fall-16000-to-278000-2016-01-28)after
touching a seven-month high earlier in January, offering fresh
evidence the labor market is still doing pretty well despite a
slower U.S. economy.
Erasing earlier solid advances, futures for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average were up 4 points, or less than 0.1%, to 15,855,
while those for the S&P 500 index ticked 2 points, or 0.1%,
higher to 1,877.
Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index climbed 22 points, or 0.5%, to
4,149, partly lifted by a 14% premarket jump for Facebook Inc. (FB)
on the back of a well-received earnings report
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-shares-surge-as-quarterly-profit-tops-1-billion-2016-01-27).
Read:It's 'impossible to deny Facebook's momentum'
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-impossible-to-deny-facebooks-momentum-analyst-2016-01-28)
"There's two key factors driving markets at the moment, the Fed
and oil," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in
emailed comments.
"As we've seen a lot this year already, oil can be quite
volatile and should we see it take a turn for the worse, I would
expect U.S. indexes won't be far behind," he said.
Prices were climbing Thursday.
U.S. stocks have throughout January have moved mostly in
lockstep with swings in oil as the ultralow prices are feared to
trigger defaults in the energy sector, freeze credit lines and
destroy wealth in emerging markets, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia
and Brazil. However, on Wednesday, U.S. stocks diverted from oil's
direction and ended lower after the latest Federal Reserve decision
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-set-to-open-lower-as-investors-wait-for-fed-rate-call-2016-01-27).
The central bank left the door open for an interest-rate
increase in March, but still hinted that it isn't likely to tighten
policy again so soon in the mist of global economic turmoil.
Investors lowered their bets of a March rate rise after the
meeting, with the CME Group federal-fund futures indicating a 25%
likelihood of a hike, down from 34% ahead of the Fed's statement on
Wednesday.
Economic data: A report on pending home sales for December is
due at 10 a.m. and is forecast to show a gain of 1%.
Movers and shakers: Shares of Under Armour Inc. (UA) jumped 12%
premarket after the athletic apparel company beat fourth-quarter
profit and revenue expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/under-armours-stock-soars-after-results-beat-expectations-upbeat-outlook-2016-01-28).
eBay Inc. (EBAY) tumbled 12.4% premarket after the online
marketplace late Wednesday reported a drop in sales
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-reports-another-drop-in-revenue-2016-01-27-164853749).
Apple Inc. (AAPL) advanced 0.1% ahead of the bell, set to
rebound from a 6.6% slump on Wednesday that came after the
quarterly earnings report showed slower iPhone sales growth
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iphone-sales-slip-as-apples-growth-boom-ends-2016-01-26).
The earnings lineup continued at full power on Thursday. Alibaba
Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) jumped 3.4% ahead of the bell after the
China-based e-commerce giant reported fiscal third-quarter profit
and sales that rose above expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alibabas-stock-surges-after-profit-sales-beat-2016-01-28).
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) gained 3.7% before the opening bell after
the company beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations, but missed
on sales
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caterpillar-shares-rise-on-fourth-quarter-earnings-beat-2016-01-28).
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) reported sales and profit ahead of
expectations.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) reported adjusted earnings
that met Wall Street's forecast
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eli-lilly-meets-earnings-forecasts-sticks-to-2016-guidelines-2016-01-28),
though revenue fell slightly short.
Ford Motor Co. (F) shares climbed 1.4% after the car maker swung
to a profit
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ford-swings-to-profit-on-strength-in-namerica-2016-01-28)
in the fourth quarter.
After hours, results from Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Visa Inc. (V)
and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) were on tap.
Other markets: Chinese stocks closed at the lowest level in over
a year, as investors digested the Fed statement. Other Asian
markets closed mixed
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-unsettled-as-markets-ponder-fed-statement-2016-01-27).
Markets in Europe
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-as-earnings-fed-weigh-2016-01-28)
were covered in a sea of red, with several heavyweight companies
adding pressure after announcing results.
Gold inched higher, while the dollar dropped against most other
currencies.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 28, 2016 09:00 ET (14:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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