Indications: U.S. stock futures drift lower after ADP report

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By Barbara Kollmeyer & Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures returned to slightly negative territory on Wednesday after turning briefly higher on a report showing the private sector shed 22,000 jobs last month.

Futures turned only temporarily higher after the ADP employment report released early Wednesday had firms in the private sector shedding jobs for a 24th month in a row. The ADP national data precedes Friday's more closely followed nonfarm payroll data from the government. Read details of December revision lower.

"The less-bad theme continues as it's the smallest decline since jobs were added back in January '08," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were off 11 points at 10,213. Those for the S&P 500 dipped 2.7 points to 1,094.5, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined 3.25 points to 1,765.75.

After a brief stumble, stocks marched higher Tuesday thanks to strong housing data, putting the market on its best two-day winning streak in nearly three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 111.32 points higher, or 1.1%, at 10,296.85. The Nasdaq rose 0.9%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3%, helped by gains in every sector.

Later, the ISM service sector index for January will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The media sector was in focus as Comcast /quotes/comstock/15*!cmcsa (CMCS.A 16.29, +0.35, +2.20%) doubled its profit and News Corp /quotes/comstock/15*!nws/quotes/nls/nws (NWS 15.04, +0.33, +2.24%) and Time Warner /quotes/comstock/13*!twx/quotes/nls/twx (TWX 28.51, +0.46, +1.64%) returned to profitability. Comcast shares edged fractionally higher in premarket trade, Time Warner edged up marginally and News Corp., which owns the publisher of this report, advanced 4.9%.

Pfizer /quotes/comstock/13*!pfe/quotes/nls/pfe (PFE 19.24, +0.45, +2.39%) slipped 1.6%. The drug giant said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to $767 million, but the result lagged Wall Street estimates. It also scaled back 2012 revenue estimates.

European shares edged higher, as the E.U. supported Greece's budget cut plan, with miners and banks offsetting earnings-related weakness from Roche Holding and Electrolux. See Europe Markets.

In the currency markets, the euro stood nearly flat against the dollar at $1.3962. The European Commission said it "fully supports" Greece's efforts to slash its budget deficit over the next three years but will monitor the government closely to ensure reforms are put in place. See E.U. backs Greek budget efforts

Asia stocks rose as resource and tech stocks climbed on buoyant commodity prices and a strong close on Wall Street. See Asia Markets

Crude oil futures were up 15 cents to $77.04 a barrel, while gold was off $3.9 to $1,114.1 an ounce.

Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.

NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Wednesday, Feb 3, 2010 :

STOCKS TRADING ON NYSE Arca AT A PRICE 15% OR MORE AWAY FROM
THE PREVIOUS TRADE DAY'S CONSOLIDATED CLOSE PRICE (AS OF 08:30:00 ET)

Stock Tuesday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
HDIX $6.05 $11.45 89.3% 485,759
DDSS $2.58 $3.16 22.5% 503,839
APKT $10.68 $12.33 15.5% 6,172

10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS ON NYSE ARCA AS OF 08:30:00 ET

BASED ON DOLLARS TRADED: | BASED ON SHARES TRADED:
Stock $ Volume Price PctChg | Stock Share Vol Price PctChg
SPY $125718176 $110.00 ( 0.4%) | C 5,210,216 $3.40 0.0%
PFE $40,913,164 $18.81 ( 2.1%) | PFE 2,165,665 $18.81 ( 2.1%)
PNC $26,107,142 $54.44 ( 0.3%) | SPY 1,141,957 $110.00 ( 0.4%)
GLD $23,423,416 $108.97 ( 0.2%) | SSTI 577,410 $2.86 5.9%
C $17,725,959 $3.40 0.0% | DDSS 503,839 $3.16 22.5%
KFT $7,091,662 $28.14 ( 1.3%) | HDIX 485,759 $11.45 89.3%
EWZ $6,719,972 $68.65 ( 0.1%) | PNC 480,460 $54.44 ( 0.3%)
HDIX $5,554,605 $11.45 89.3% | ANX 318,576 $0.34 8.2%
GS $5,415,997 $157.83 0.6% | KFT 251,906 $28.14 ( 1.3%)
SDS $5,033,311 $35.74 0.8% | GLD 214,652 $108.97 ( 0.2%)

Price changes may be affected by symbol splits and dividends.

Consolidated close price is the last print (excluding prints with trade
conditions) prior to 4PM ET.

This information is also updated on our web page every morning at 8:35ET:
http://www.tradearca.com/data/volume/daily_update.asp

This material is for informational purposes only.
NYSE Euronext and its affiliates ("NYSE Arca") are not soliciting any action based upon it.
This material is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal.
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OF THIS MATERIAL, ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE OR OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE MATERIAL) WITH RESPECT TO THIS MATERIAL.

Copyright [2010] by NYSE Euronext. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without prior express consent.

Indications: U.S. stock futures inch up ahead of data, earnings

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By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures were marginally higher on Wednesday, after a rousing prior session and ahead of some key economic data and more earnings.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 points to 10,234, while those for the S&P 500 gained 1.3 points to 1,098.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 2.25 points to 1,771.

After a brief stumble, stocks marched higher Tuesday thanks to strong housing data, putting the market on its best two-day winning streak in nearly three months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 111.32 points higher, or 1.1%, at 10,296.85. The Nasdaq rose 0.9%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.3%, helped by gains in every sector.

TODAY'S INTERNATIONAL MARKET STORIES

Global Dow

• MarketWatch Topics: Greece • Asia Markets | Europe Markets | LatAm Markets • Canadian Markets | Israel Stocks | London • U.S.: Market Snapshot | After Hours

Tools• Latin American/Canadian indexes • European indexes | Asian indexes

More on the Markets • Bond Report | Oil News | Earnings Watch • Currencies | U.S. Economic Calendar

/conga/story/misc/international.html 53366

Economic data on tap includes the ADP national employment report, due at 8:15 a.m., which precedes Friday's more closely followed nonfarm payroll data from the government.

"In January, both numbers showed falls of around 80,000, much weaker than expected and a decline in ADP of around 30,000 is expected today, whereas Friday's nonfarm payroll data is due to post a small rise. The real employment number is the nonfarm payroll data but ADP can move the markets so watch out," said Simon Denham, managing director of Capital Spreads.

Also due, the ISM service sector index for January will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Ahead of the market open quarterly results are due from Pfizer /quotes/comstock/13*!pfe/quotes/nls/pfe (PFE 19.24, +0.45, +2.39%) , Time Warner /quotes/comstock/13*!twx/quotes/nls/twx (TWX 28.51, +0.46, +1.64%) , AOL /quotes/comstock/13*!aol/quotes/nls/aol (AOL 24.65, +0.72, +3.01%) and Black & Decker /quotes/comstock/13*!bdk/quotes/nls/bdk (BDK 68.75, +2.64, +3.99%) among others.

News Corp /quotes/comstock/15*!nws/quotes/nls/nws (NWS 15.04, +0.33, +2.24%) may be active after it swung to a quarterly profit of $284 million on strong performance in film and cable TV businesses. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires and MarketWatch, the publisher of this report. See News Corp. swings to profit on cable, film returns

European shares edged higher, ahead of a decision on Greece's stability program, with miners and banks offsetting earnings-related weakness from Roche Holding and Electrolux. See Europe Markets.

In the currency markets, the euro was up 0.3% against the dollar at $1.4002 ahead of the decision from the European Union on Greece's plan.

"It appears that the E.U. is ready to approve Greece's deficit reduction plan which should relieve some of the near-term pressure, although the concern about other peripheral nations is likely to persist," said Ian Williams, strategist at Altium Securities.

Asian markets shot higher Wednesday as resource and tech stocks climbed on buoyant commodity prices and a strong close on Wall Street.

Crude oil futures were up 62 cents to $77.85 a barrel, while gold was up $2 to $1,120.10 an ounce.

Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.