Futures flat as oil offsets possible GE spinoff
|
|
|
By Kristina CookeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as reports of a possible spin-off at General Electric offset rising oil prices.In addition, investor Carl Icahn has elected to move ahead with plans to run a dissident board slate at Yahoo, sources familiar with the matter said. Shares of Yahoo rose 2.2 percent to $27.75 after the bell on Wednesday.General Electric Co may sell its appliance unit in an auction that could bring in $5 billion to $8 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Wednesday. GE shares also edged higher.The price of oil rose and was near $125 a barrel, raising concerns about inflation and the impact on consumer spending. UBS bank sharply raised its projection for oil prices and said inflation risks from rising crude costs would put a global economic recovery in 2009-2010 at risk.A number of Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Ben Bernanke, are scheduled to speak in Chicago, with investors searching for clues on the outlook for interest rates.Economic data includes the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's business index, April industrial production and initial jobless claims for the latest week."The focus today is going to be the Fed speakers and the economic data -- if there are signs of stabilization, the market could jump," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.S&P 500 futures rose 1.8 points, roughly in line with fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 5.5 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 13 points.In Europe, shares were trading flat, weighed down by persistent concerns about the banking sector, while in Asia, stocks ended mixed.U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday in light trading after a modest rise in consumer prices in April cooled inflation fears while Macy's Inc and Freddie Mac posted reassuring quarterly results.(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Five more US bank failures bring total for 2009 to 120
New York - Bank failures in the United States have risen to 120 this year as five more regional institutions were added to the list, the US agency that guarantees the safety of bank deposits said. United Commercial Bank in San Francisco with assets o...
US stocks climb slightly despite double-digit jobless rate
New York - US stocks posted mild gains Friday to end the week as investors shrugged off government figures that put the unemployment rate above 10 per cent. The Labour Department said the jobless rate hit 10.2 per cent in the month of October, the hi...
US joblessness hits 10.2 per cent, highest in 26 years - Summary
Washington - The US unemployment rate surged to 10.2 per cent in October, the highest in 26 years as another 190,000 people lost their jobs, the Labour Department reported Friday. The figure comes after a 9.8-per-cent jobless rate in September and wa...
US joblessness jumps to 10.2 per cent, highest since 1983 - Update
Washington - The US unemployment rate surged to 10.2 per cent in October, the highest in 26 years, as another 190,000 people lost their jobs during the month, the US reported Friday. The figure reported by US Labour Department came after the 9.8 per ...
US jobless rate jumps to 10.2 per cent
Washington - The US unemployment rate surged to 10.2 per cent in October as another 190,000 people lost their jobs, according to US Labour Department figures released Friday. The jobless rate stood at 9.8 per cent in September. Unemployment had been ...
Bulls stop James, edge Cavs - Summary
Los Angeles - The King couldn't deliver in the clutch. Luol Deng and Joakim Noah combined to deny LeBron James a potential game-winning drive in the final seconds as and the visiting Chicago Bulls snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' three-game winning...
Mortgage lender Fannie Mae posts nearly 19-billion-dollar loss
Washington - US mortgage lender Fannie Mae said Thursday that it would seek 15 billion dollars in federal aid, after posting its ninth consecutive quarterly loss. Fannie Mae reported a net loss of 18.9 billion dollars in the third quarter of 2009, co...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
