By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
SolarCity slides premarket after earnings
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks are looking at a modestly
positive open Thursday, after futures, earlier in the morning,
reflected a sharp fall in oil prices and investor skittishness
ahead of a raft of quarterly results and economic reports.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJH5) had been
flipping between small gains and losses, but, at last check, were
up 37 points, at 18,030, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPH5) were nearly flat at 2,098.00. Futures for the Nasdaq-100
index (NDH5) climbed 13 points, or 0.3%, to 4,400.
Markets had closed slightly lower on Wednesday, as investors
wrestled with interpreting minutes from the Federal Reserve's
latest meeting, which suggested the first rate hike might come
later than expected. The report showed the central bank is worried
about the low rate of inflation and slow pickup in wages,
emphasizing the importance of those data points.
Data: Investors on Thursday might get more hints to whether
wages are likely to improve, with a reading on weekly jobless
claims due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists polled by
MarketWatch expect 290,000 Americans filed for unemployment
benefits last week, down from 304,000 the week before.
The Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index for February is out
at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists expect a slight rebound to 8 from
the sharp decline to 6.3 in January, compared with 24.3 in
December. The leading indicators readings is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Eastern as well.
Oil blues: Energy companies and oil-related funds were hit hard
in premarket trade, as crude-oil prices slid and hovered around $50
a barrel. The oil slump came after data showed a whopping jump in
U.S. oil stockpiles, which underscored concerns of a supply glut.
Among oil-tracking indexes, the iPath Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Total
Return Index ETN (OIL) fell 3.4%, and the Velocity Shares 3X Long
Crude ETN (UWTI) slumped 8.8%.
ConocoPhillips dropped 1.4% ahead of the open, while Exxon Mobil
Corp. (XOM) shaved off 0.9%, and Halliburton Co. (HAL) lost
1.8%.
Progress in Greece: The Greek government formally requested a
six-month extension to its loan agreement, sending stocks higher in
Athens. Senior eurozone finance ministers are expected to meet
later on Thursday to discuss the request, but it isn't a given that
they'll grant Greece the extension. The country's antiausterity
government has distinguished between a mere loan agreement and a
continuation of the full bailout program, which it argues hurts the
Greek society and economy. Germany has indicated it wants Greece to
implement the agreed reform programs under the current bailout
agreement and is likely to want more detail on the loan extension
before signing off.
The full Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers is scheduled to
meet on Friday.
Earnings: It is a busy premarket lineup on the earnings front:
T-Mobile US Inc.(TMUS) said it swung to a profit in the fourth
quarter and reported a better-than-expected surge in revenue.
Shares were unchanged ahead of the bell.
Hormel Foods Corp.(HRL) beat Wall Street's earnings expectations
and raised its 2015 adjusted earnings guidance. Shares didn't move
premarket.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT) is projected to report fourth-quarter
earnings of $1.54 a share, according to a consensus survey by
FactSet.
Priceline Group Inc.(PCLN) is forecast to post fourth-quarter
earnings of $10.10 a share.
DirecTV(DTV) is projected to post fourth-quarter earnings of
$1.39 a share.
Movers and shakers:SolarCity Corp.(SCTY) slumped 6.3% after the
solar-energy firm late Wednesday said it swung to a fourth-quarter
loss of 4 cents a share, from a profit of 28 cents a share a year
ago.
Counterpart SunEdison Inc.(SUNE) fell 4%. The solar-energy
company late Wednesday reported a smaller-than-expected
fourth-quarter loss.
BJ's Restaurants Inc.(BJRI) surged 10% after reporting a sharp
rise in profit for the fourth quarter.
Other markets: European markets rose with Germany's DAX 30 index
moving back above 11,000 as investors digested developments in
Greece's debt negotiations.
In Asia, Japanese stocks rose to a 15-year intraday high, while
the rest of Asia closed mixed. Chinese markets were closed for the
Lunar New Year celebrations.
Gold rallied, while the dollar (DXY) was slightly lower, after
the Federal Open Market Committee minutes dashed hopes of a midyear
rate hike.
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