© Reuters
By Peter Nurse
Investing.com — U.S. stocks are seen opening marginally lower Thursday, with disappointing earnings from chipmaker (NASDAQ:) weighing on sentiment ahead of the release of key growth and labor data.
At 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT), the contract was down 75 points or 0.2%, traded 8 points or 0.2% higher, and climbed 2 points or 0.2%.
Micron a much steeper-than-expected second quarter loss after the close of trading on Wednesday, and said it will lay off 10% of its workforce next year, citing a significant supply-demand mismatch in the semiconductor market.
Micron stock fell 3% premarket.
The three major averages closed higher Wednesday, helped by healthy quarterly earnings from the likes of sportswear giant (NYSE:), as well as a stronger-than-expected number.
The blue-chip rose over 500 points or 1.6%, the broad-based climbed 1.5%, while the tech-heavy gained 1.5%.
Still, despite these gains, it has been a difficult year on Wall Street as soaring has resulted in the aggressively raising interest rates, stoking concerns about an abrupt slowdown in economic growth.
The three main indices are all on course to post their worst yearly performance since 2008, breaking a 3-year win streak.
The U.S. central bank hiked interest rates last week by 50 basis points, slowing the pace of its rate increases, but added that its benchmark rate could rise above 5% before it’s finished, higher than some expected just a few months ago.
The economic data calendar Thursday includes another print of third quarter , as well as weekly , and investors will be looking for clues on how the economy is holding up in the face of the interest rate increases.
In other corporate news, earnings are due from used car retailer CarMax (NYSE:), while athletics apparel retailer Under Armour (NYSE:) has named Stephanie Linnartz, currently president at Marriott International (NASDAQ:), as its next CEO.
Oil prices rose Thursday, climbing for the fourth straight session after U.S. inventories data pointed to tight supplies in the biggest consumer in the world ahead of the travel-heavy holiday season.
U.S. crude stocks fell by just under 6 million barrels in the week to Dec. 16, according to official data from the , released on Wednesday.
Helping the gains Thursday is the forecast for a deep chill to hit large parts of the United States, boosting the need for , with low temperatures expected as far south as Texas and Florida.
By 07:00 ET, futures traded 1.9% higher at $79.77 a barrel, while the contract rose 1.9% to $83.79.
Additionally, fell 0.1% to $1,822.85/oz, while traded 0.2% higher at 1.0619.
Be the first to comment