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U.S. Stock Futures Retreat

By Chris Dieterich NEW YORK?Stock futures turned lower after a weaker-than-expected reading on U.S. economic growth for the fourth quarter, jeopardizing the market’s chances for a fourth-straight weekly gain.With less than an hour before the opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 41 points, or 0.3%, to 12643. The Dow closed down 22 points, or 0.2%, on Thursday, but had been up as much as 85 points at its intraday high of 12842, which was the highest seen since May 2.Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index futures fell five points, or 0.4%, to 1312 and Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower by two points, or 0.1%, to 2450. Changes in stock futures do not always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell. The nation’s gross domestic product?the value of all goods and services produced?grew at an annual rate of 2.8% between October and December, up from 1.8% growth in the third quarter. The reading fell short of expectations for 3% growth, through the data showed that the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010. Due up later Friday are data on consumer sentiment for January, due out at 9:55 a.m. EST. Economists forecast a slight improvement. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3%, with investors wary as the cost of insuring Portugal’s debt against default climbed to a fresh record Friday. Elsewhere, there were signs of progress. European Union Commissioner Olli Rehn said Greece was close to a deal with its private creditors on the restructure of its debt, while the Italian Treasury sold the full amount of debt at its planned bill sales Friday. The debt sale boosted confidence ahead of a longer-dated auction Monday that will provide a more accurate gauge of demand for the country’s bonds. Asian bourses were mostly higher, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rising 0.3%. Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.1%. Gold futures were barely changed at $1,727 an ounce, while crude-oil futures ticked up 0.5% to $100.21 a barrel. The U.S. dollar lost ground against the euro and the yen. In corporate news, shares of Procter & Gamble fell 0.7% premarket trading after the blue-chip consumer-products company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings that exceeded forecasts, but lowered its full-year outlook citing unfavorable currency translation. Ford Motor lost 4.7% after the auto maker’s fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates, as a result of slower sales in Europe and production losses caused by the flooding in Thailand, although revenue came in above expectations. Starbucks fell 1.7% after the coffee seller’s fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue exceeded expectations, but its second-quarter earnings outlook was below current forecasts. Juniper Networks slumped 8.8% after the company missed fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, and provided a downbeat outlook for the current quarter. Riverbed Technology shed 16% after the maker of networking gear topped fourth-quarter expectations, but provided a disappointing current-quarter outlook. Seagate Technology advanced 3.3% after the hard-disk drive maker raised its quarterly dividend by 39 cents a share and increased its stock repurchase program by $1 billion. KLA-Tencor rose 4% after semiconductor equipment maker reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue at the high end of its previously provided outlook. Solutia soared 41% after the specialty-chemicals company said it agreed to be acquired by Eastman Chemical in a cash and stock deal valued at about $3.38 billion. Eastman Chemical climbed 6.6%. …



View full post on SmartMoney.com: Today’s Markets

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