MW: U.S. stock futures mixed after Apple's strong quarter
U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed start Thursday, with tech stocks seen higher after Apple's surprisingly strong profit but the broader market steady ahead of what could be gloomy data from the housing market.
S&P 500 futures slipped 1.9 points to 835.10 while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 8 points. Dow industrial futures slipped 14 points.
U.S. stocks saw their best day in a month Wednesday as financials recovered from a rout, helped by news that Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis bought 200,000 shares and that a stimulus package may be passed in weeks.
After the close, a filing showed that J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon bought 500,000 shares in his bank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 279 points, the S&P 500 added 35 points and the Nasdaq Composite rose 66 points.
Financials helped lift overseas markets as well, with the Nikkei 225 up 1.9% in Tokyo and the FTSE 100 rising 1.7% in London.
The week's first economic releases from the U.S. will include housing starts for December, weekly jobless claims and a house price gauge for November.
Expectations aren't high for the housing start release after November's 19% plunge and after slumping December home builder confidence figures.
Overseas, China said its fourth-quarter growth rate slowed to 6.8% from 9% in the third quarter, the slowest rate of growth in seven years. The Bank of Japan kept interest rates at 0.1%, said it would increase its purchases of government bonds and said it would buy commercial paper.
Oil futures rose 91 cents to $44.46 a barrel ahead of weekly energy inventories figures. The dollar lost group vs. the Japanese yen, trading around 89 yen.
Apple climbed 8% as the computer maker reported a 2% profit rise and improving gross margins amid strong iPod sales, though the company's current quarter guidance was below Street estimates.
"Rumors of the iPod's demise may be a tad premature, but it is hard to know at this point with much conviction. Management explicitly stated on the call that growth was concentrated in the final week of the quarter, and the sequential decrease in ASP suggests there was a higher than expected mix of lower priced iPods," said analysts from Morgan Keegan.
eBay fell 7% as the online auctioneering group said its profit dropped 31%.
"We believe eBay is continuing to lose share to Amazon and other eCommerce players," said analysts from J.P. Morgan.
The earnings docket includes releases from UnitedHealth , Lockheed Martin , Southwest Airlines , and after the close, tech heavyweights Microsoft and Google.
