Indications: U.S. stock futures falter after CPI, jobs data

By Kate Gibson and Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures fell Thursday after economic data had both the cost of living and the count of weekly filings for unemployment benefits rising more than anticipated.

Mildly lower ahead of the economic reports, stock-index futures fell further in their wake.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\h11 (DJH11 12,290, +2.00, +0.02%)  were down 20 points at 12,232 and S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\h11 (SPH11 1,338, -0.10, -0.01%)  fell 3.50 points to 1,329.5.

Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\h11 (NDH11 2,395, +1.00, +0.04%)  dropped 5.5 points to 2,386.5.

S&P 500 doubles up from 2009 low

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index now stands at twice the level it was in March 2009, getting a Wednesday boost from earnings and economic data.

The consumer-price index rose 0.4% in January, the Labor Department said, with the data posing the possibility of higher food and fuel costs now translating into other goods and services.

“The inflation worm has turned at the consumer level and will continue to rise in 2011,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.

Separately, the Labor Department reported first-time applications for jobless benefits increased by 25,000 to a total of 410,000 last week. See more on initial and continuing claims made with state employment offices.

U.S. markets rose on Wednesday, gaining after Federal Reserve officials lifted their forecast for economic growth in 2011 to a range of 3.4% to 3.9%, up from the previous forecast range of 3% to 3.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 12,318, +29.97, +0.24%)  closed up nearly 62 points.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will release its February survey of regional business activity after markets open.

Shares of data-storage technology company NetApp Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!ntap/quotes/nls/ntap (NTAP 54.77, -3.77, -6.44%)  dropped in premarket trading after ifourth-quarter earnings forecast disappointed investors. Read more on NetApp's results.

Technology giant Apple Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl (AAPL 358.30, -4.83, -1.33%)  slipped, giving back some of the 13% rise the stock has achieved since the start of the year. Several online media outlets reported that Steve Jobs, taking a medical leave of absence as chief executive, has been seen at a cancer center in California.

Shares of chip maker Nvidia Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!nvda/quotes/nls/nvda (NVDA 25.68, +2.30, +9.84%)  fell in premarket trade after it reported fourth-quarter results late Wednesday.

Shares of natural-gas group Williams Cos. /quotes/comstock/13*!wmb/quotes/nls/wmb (WMB 30.08, +2.32, +8.36%) , on the other hand, are expected to surge after the group’s board approved a plan to spin off its exploration and production business.

Other stocks that are likely to see active trading Thursday include Apache Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!apa/quotes/nls/apa (APA 120.62, +0.11, +0.09%) , following fourth-quarter financial results reported by the energy independent, and PG&E Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!pcg/quotes/nls/pcg (PCG 45.56, -0.44, -0.96%) , which is seen reporting a profit of 72 cents a share.

European stock markets were broadly flat in late morning trading after a mixed set of earnings results from the likes of Pernod Ricard SA /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ri (FR:RI 67.61, -3.02, -4.28%) , BAE Systems PLC /quotes/comstock/23s!a:ba. (UK:BA. 340.90, -14.80, -4.16%)  and Nestle SA /quotes/comstock/06p!nesn (CH:NESN 52.90, +0.45, +0.86%)   /quotes/comstock/11i!nsrgy (NSRGY 55.73, +1.01, +1.85%) /quotes/comstock/11i!nsrgy (NSRGY 55.73, +1.01, +1.85%)

Most Asian markets ended the day with small gains. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 Average /quotes/comstock/64e!i:ni225 (JP:NI225 10,849, +12.66, +0.12%)  closed up 0.3%.

Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York. Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London.

Powered By iWebRSS.com

Indications: U.S. stock futures hold steady ahead of CPI data

By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures held in a tight range Thursday as investors awaited the latest data on jobless claims and consumer prices and as European markets also struggled for direction.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\h11 (DJH11 12,245, -7.00, -0.06%)  were down 4 points at 12,248 and S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\h11 (SPH11 1,329, -3.70, -0.28%)  fell 1.50 points to 1,331.50.

Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\h11 (NDH11 2,388, -4.00, -0.17%)  dropped 2 points to 2,390.

MARKETS HUB: S&P 500 close to doubling 2009 low

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index is close to doubling its level from the March 2009 low, boosted on Wednesday by earnings and economic data.

U.S. markets rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials lifted their forecast for economic growth in 2011 to a range of 3.4% to 3.9%, from the previous forecast range of 3% to 3.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 12,288, +61.53, +0.50%)  closed up nearly 62 points.

Inflation data will once again be in the spotlight Thursday with the 8:30 a.m. Eastern time release of January’s consumer price index. Analysts expect the figures to show a 0.3% gain in headline consumer prices and a 0.1% rise in the core rate. See Economic Preview.

At the same time, weekly figures on jobless claims are expected to edge back up to 400,000 from 383,000 a week earlier.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will release its February business activity survey after markets open.

“The weekly jobless numbers have been rather volatile of recent with the U.S. suffering severe weather disruptions as well, so as things settle down we should get a better idea of whether the jobs market is improving,” said Simon Denham, head of Capital Spreads, in an email.

He added the consensus forecast is for Thursday’s number to come in a little below the four-week average of 416,000.

The dollar held steady ahead of the data. The euro was down 0.1% at $1.3564 and the greenback was virtually flat against the yen at ¥83.591.

Shares of data-storage technology company NetApp Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!ntap/quotes/nls/ntap (NTAP 58.54, +0.10, +0.17%)  dropped nearly 8% in premarket trading after its fourth-quarter earnings forecast disappointed investors. Read more on NetApp's results.

Technology giant Apple Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl (AAPL 363.13, +3.23, +0.90%)  slipped 1.8% in premarket trading, giving back some of the 13% rise the stock has achieved since the start of the year. Several online media outlets reported that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has been seen at a cancer center in California.

Shares of chip maker Nvidia Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!nvda/quotes/nls/nvda (NVDA 23.38, +0.83, +3.68%)  fell 3.1% in premarket trade after it reported fourth-quarter results late Wednesday.

Shares in natural-gas group Williams Cos. /quotes/comstock/13*!wmb/quotes/nls/wmb (WMB 27.76, +0.73, +2.70%) , on the other hand, are expected to surge after the group’s board approved a plan to spin off its exploration and production business.

Other stocks that are likely to see active trading Thursday include Apache Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!apa/quotes/nls/apa (APA 120.51, +1.17, +0.98%) , which is expected to report earnings of $2.46 a share in the latest quarter, and PG&E Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!pcg/quotes/nls/pcg (PCG 46.00, -0.21, -0.45%) , which is seen reporting a profit of 72 cents a share.

European stock markets were broadly flat in late morning trading after a mixed set of earnings results from the likes of Pernod Ricard SA /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ri (FR:RI 67.72, -2.91, -4.12%) , BAE Systems PLC /quotes/comstock/23s!a:ba. (UK:BA. 339.20, -16.50, -4.64%)  and Nestle SA /quotes/comstock/06p!nesn (CH:NESN 53.10, +0.65, +1.24%)   /quotes/comstock/11i!nsrgy (NSRGY 54.72, 0.00, 0.00%) /quotes/comstock/11i!nsrgy (NSRGY 54.72, 0.00, 0.00%)

The French CAC 40 index /quotes/comstock/30t!i:px1 (FR:PX1 4,143, -7.80, -0.19%)  slipped less than 0.1% to 4,149.90.

Most Asian markets ended the day with small gains. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 Average closed up 0.3%.

Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London.

Powered By iWebRSS.com

NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Thursday, Feb 17, 2011 :

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 Wednesday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
RBCN $21.10 $25.37 20.2% 21,778
WTW $44.90 $53.46 19.1% 30,862

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
AAPL $73,221,256 $360.00 ( 0.8%) | WMB 626,777 $31.25 12.6%
SPY $20,145,796 $133.66 ( 0.1%) | VALE 321,157 $35.19 ( 0.4%)
WMB $19,609,341 $31.25 12.6% | NOK 286,970 $9.02 ( 0.9%)
IWM $12,976,266 $82.68 0.0% | MT 261,251 $37.35 ( 1.0%)
VALE $11,401,829 $35.19 ( 0.4%) | ALU 257,539 $4.91 0.2%
MT $9,773,474 $37.35 ( 1.0%) | AAPL 204,209 $360.00 ( 0.8%)
QQQQ $9,560,859 $58.72 ( 0.3%) | QQQQ 162,770 $58.72 ( 0.3%)
EWZ $9,303,314 $73.50 ( 0.4%) | IWM 156,930 $82.68 0.0%
BHP $9,269,193 $92.86 ( 0.5%) | SPY 150,683 $133.66 ( 0.1%)
RIO $8,728,190 $72.14 ( 1.8%) | NVDA 129,333 $22.91 ( 2.0%)

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.
Any opinions expressed in this material are NYSE Arca opinions only.
NYSE Arca undertakes no obligation to update any of the information contained in this material in light of new information or future events.
THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED BY NYSE ARCA "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
NYSE ARCA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY, TITLE, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS TO THIS MATERIAL.
IN NO EVENT SHALL NYSE ARCA BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES AND DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE USE
OF THIS MATERIAL, ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE OR OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE MATERIAL) WITH RESPECT TO THIS MATERIAL.

Copyright [2011] by NYSE Euronext. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without prior express consent.