Green Mountain Coffee up in pre-open, Abercrombie & Fitch tumbles
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock market futures edged higher Thursday, but caution remained the watchword as investors waited to see if the European Central Bank will make good on recent pledges to do its part to help support the beleaguered euro.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU2 +0.22% rose 52 points to 12,980, while those for Standard & Poor’s 500 index SPU2 +0.37% gained 5.9 points to 1,376.30. Those for the Nasdaq-100 index NDU2 +0.27% added 11 points to 2,636.
U.S. stocks fell Wednesday, losing ground in afternoon trading following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold steady on monetary policy, a move that had been widely expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.29% fell 32.55 points, or 0.3%, to 12,976.13.
But observers said the real show comes when the European Central Bank makes its policy announcement at 7:45 a.m. Eastern time, with a press conference by Mario Draghi, the euro zone’s top central banker, to follow at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Bundesbank rains on Draghi’s ambitions
German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Thursday that the central bank was planning coordinated action with the European Stability Mechanism to buy Spanish and Italian bonds, citing unnamed sources. The report helped boost European stocks, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.33% up 0.6%.
The euro EURUSD +0.6684% edged up against the dollar, climbing to $1.2263 from $1.2232 late in New York on Wednesday.
The bar has been set so high by markets that many analysts say Draghi can hardly reach it, but they are looking for him to follow up his recent statement: that the central bank will do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro.
“This is Draghi’s key moment, when he has a chance to reinforce his powerful rhetoric with some equally powerful actions,” said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Index. “However, there is always the possibility he will do nothing, or that the announced plans fail to live up to investors’ high expectations.
“If that occurs, the damage to fragile investor confidence could be severe,” said Beauchamp, in emailed comments.
Earlier, the Bank of England left key rates unchanged after the close of its meeting.
Data from the U.S. include weekly jobless claims, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, followed by factory orders for June, to be released by the Commerce Department at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Away from economics, Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC +0.79% , General Motors Co. GM -0.25% and Kellogg Co. K +0.23% are among the companies whose quarterly results will draw scrutiny before the market opens.
Among stocks in focus, shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. GMCR -1.91% rose 14% in pre-market trading. Late the prior day, the group cut its fiscal 2012 financial targets for the second time since last May. It also announced a plan to buy back $500 million of stock.
Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF +0.65% tumbled 17% in pre-market trading after the fashion retailer The New Albany, Ohio, retailer of clothing for teenagers reported late Wednesday that second-quarter comparable-store sales fell 10%. The company also estimated the quarter’s earnings at 15 cents to 18 cents a share, well short of estimates.
In other markets, Asia stocks finished mostly lower amid skepticism that the ECB will announce any new or bold measures. Chinese stocks sank on a sharp fall in property developers, with the Shanghai Composite Index CN:000001 -0.57% closing down 0.6%.
In commodities, crude oil for September delivery CLU2 +0.10% rose 22 cents to $89.13 a barrel, while gold for August delivery GCQ2 -0.12% fell $2.30 to $1,601 an ounce.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
