MW: U.S. stocks: Futures edge up ahead of data deluge
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures made small advances on Wednesday, the last full day of trading ahead of the Thanksgiving break, ahead of a barrage of data on consumer prices, new-home sales and other indicators.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJZ4, +0.18% rose 12 points to 17,820, while those for the S&P 500 index SPZ4, -0.05% added 2 points to 2,069.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NDZ4, +0.15% gained 6.5 points to 4,299.
A strong U.S. economic-growth figure and a surprising dip in consumer confidence left Wall Street stocks marginally lower on Tuesday, snapping three days of gains for the S&P 500 SPX, -0.12% and the Dow industrials DJIA, -0.02% Volumes were already thinning ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day break. Markets will close early on Friday. Stocks plummeted sharply in two separate instances as well on Tuesday.
Need to Know: Happy wealthy Thanksgiving and steer clear of Herbalife
In that big data lineup, consumer spending for October is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time and is tipped to rise 0.3%, from a 0.2% fall earlier in the month, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. The core PCE price index for that month is due at the same time, as is a reading on durable goods orders, which are forecast to fall for the second straight month, partly on softer auto sales. Weekly jobless claims will be released at the same time.
Then at 9:45 a.m. Eastern comes the Chicago purchasing-managers index for November, followed by the consumer sentiment index for the same month. Reports on new and pending home sales for November are scheduled for release 15 minutes later.
Long the S&P 500, and oil worries: Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG, has pointed out that funds are running the second-lowest short positions in S&P 500 futures for the year, while the cash market shows 88% of stocks are now above their 50-day moving average. That figure stood at 13% in mid-October, he said in a note.
This isn’t screaming “selloff”, as 20% of companies are still trading below their 200-day moving averages, said Weston in a note. But “a short-term move lower of 3-5% would be healthy for the next stage of the bull market to materialize, especially with the U.S. index trading at peak EBIT margins,” he added.
Oil prices CLF5, +0.05% rose, but prices were choppy after a prior-session slump, as investors waited for Thursday’s OPEC meeting. See: Saudi Arabia says oil market will ‘stabilize itself’
Analysts at Jefferies said don’t bet on any agreement coming out of OPEC that would be “big enough to spur a rally in Brent prices” LCOF5, +0.08% in the near term. See: Oil traders are clearing out ahead of the OPEC decision
Stocks to watch: Deere & Co. DE, -3.05% posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results but said it expects sales of equipment to fall by more than a fifth.
Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ, -1.54% shares fell 1.7% after a late-session fall that was triggered by earnings that matched forecasts and revenue that came up short.
Hertz Global Holdings HTZ, +1.82% was moving higher after a filing showed that activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the car rental company by a quarter.
Other markets: European stocks SXXP, +0.16% made moderate gains, led by the German DAX 30 index DAX, +0.45% Japanese stocks broke a winning strength as the yen perked up against the dollar USDJPY, -0.21% Gold prices GCZ4, -0.11% tipped south.
