BMO Capital Markets chief investment strategist Brian Belski discusses his market outlook and whether to buy Big Tech stocks.
U.S. equity futures were trading higher Thursday morning, snapping a streak that has seen the Dow fall for four days and the Nasdaq entering correction territory.
The major futures indexes suggest a gain of 0.6% when the opening bell rings ahead of a fresh report on jobless claims.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 35028.65 | -339.82 | -0.96% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4532.76 | -44.35 | -0.97% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 14340.255145 | -166.64 | -1.15% |
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The benchmark S&P 500 index fell 1% on Wednesday and the Nasdaq Composite, dominated by technology stocks, lost 1.1% and is now 10.7% below its Nov. 19 all-time high.
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In earnings, Travelers shares rose after posting record quarterly profits. Fifth Third Bancorp and KeyCorp are also among the names reporting in the morning.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRV | THE TRAVELERS COS. INC. | 160.07 | -3.50 | -2.14% |
| FITB | FIFTH THIRD BANCORP | 47.97 | -1.65 | -3.33% |
| KEY | KEYCORP | 25.59 | -1.01 | -3.80% |
American Airlines is also out with results, posting a loss of $921 million, or $1.42 per share, less than expectations. “Looking forward, our focus in 2022 will be to continue running a reliable airline, returning to profitability, and delivering on our long-term plan to deleverage the balance sheet,” said incoming CEO Robert Isom.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 17.31 | -0.59 | -3.30% |
Union Pacific will also report.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNP | UNION PACIFIC CORP. | 239.49 | +1.45 | +0.61% |
In the afternoon, the spotlight will turn to Netflix.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 515.86 | +5.06 | +0.99% |
On the economic calendar, the Labor Department is out with its tally of new claims for unemployment benefits for last week. Expectations are for 220,000, down from an unexpected rise to 230,000 the prior week. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, are anticipated to fall 21,000 to 1.580 million, another prepandemic low.
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At the same time, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will release its index of manufacturing activity for eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. It’s expected to rise 4.6 points this month to a reading of 20.0, up from a one-year low of 15.4 in December. Any reading above zero means that more manufacturers say business conditions are improving rather than worsening.
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The National Association of Realtors is expected to say that sales of previously owned homes slipped 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.44 million units in December. That’s down from a 10-month high of 6.46 million in November.
Asian stock markets rose Thursday after China cut interest rates to shore up economic growth and Japan reported a double-digit rise in exports.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 1.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 3.4% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index was off 0.1%.
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In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 28 cents to $86.68 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
FOX Business’ Ken Martin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
