Forexpros – U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, but gains were seen limited as concerns over Spain’s ailing banking sector and soaring borrowing costs continued to weigh on investor confidence.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.45%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.44% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.35% increase.
Investor sentiment found support amid expectations that Ireland would pass a vote for the European Union’s fiscal treaty in a referendum on Thursday.
But sustained concerns over the situation in Spain, as the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was hovering close to euro-era highs at 6.7%, near the critical 7% threshold that led Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek outside assistance.
Meanwhile, uncertainty over the outcome of a second Greek general election weighed after opinion polls showed that pro and anti-austerity parties were neck-and-neck ahead of the June 17 vote.
Retailers were expected to be active after Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a 4% rise in comparable sales in May, falling short of analysts’ forecasts as a strong dollar hurt the value of its sales overseas.
Specialty retailer Zumiez said comparable store sales in May rose 13.7% compared to estimates of 6.9%.
Meanwhile, Facebook shares rose 0.43% in pre-market trade after Morgan Stanley Chairman and Chief Executive James Gorman defended his bank’s performance as lead underwriter on the social media group’s IPO, despite waves of criticism from investors and a potential legal review of the deal’s marketing.
Among earnings, TiVo reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss and forecast another loss for the current quarter as the maker of digital television recorders fights costly legal battles to protect its patents. The news sent shares down 1.79% in after hour trade.
In corporate news, striking workers at a Caterpillar plant in Joliet, Illinois, on Wednesday rejected the company’s latest contract offer, according to an official with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Meanwhile, billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who last year failed to get his nominees elected to the board of Forest Laboratories, said he plans to back another slate of directors at the drug maker’s next shareholder meeting.
Other stocks in focus included US Airways Group and private equity firm TPG Capital, as both were reported to possibly team up to bid for American Airlines’ parent, AMR Corp .
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.75%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.68%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.41%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.89%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.32%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.05%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on first quarter economic growth, as well as reports on private sector employment and initial jobless claims and data on business activity in the Chicago area.
Forexpros
