MARKET SNAPSHOT: Wall Street Eyes Cautious Start A
Post# of 94143
Source: Dow Jones News
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Oil prices rise, China recovers, Europe skids toward 1-year low
Wall Street was struggling to find its footing on Thursday, a day after major indexes suffered the biggest losses in three months, as global growth worries continued to cast a pall.
Earnings from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. will be in the spotlight, with earnings due ahead of the opening bell.
Stock futures traded back and forth across the flat line, after a strong showing in Asia hours. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 18 points to 16,073, S&P 500 futures were up 1.35 points to 1,882.75, and Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 3 points to 4,173.75.
On Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-up-triple-digits-as-market-eyes-third-day-of-gains-2016-01-13), the S&P 500 index closed down 48.40 points, or 2.5% to 1,890.28, while the Dow industrials slid 364.81 points, or 2.2%, to 16,151.41, both stumbling to their lowest levels since Sept. 29, 2015. It was even worse for the Nasdaq Composite , which slumped 159.85 points, or 3.4%, to 4,526.06.
"A lot of recent data has emphasized that the bottom has not quite fallen out of the global economy, but a negative feedback loop of self-perpetuating fear seems to have gripped global markets," said Angus Nicholson, Melbourne-based analyst at IG. He added that in this type of situation, it's "futile" to use the argument that fundamentals are OK to push back against markets that aren't rational.
Calls that the S&P 500 will fall 75% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/socgen-perma-bear-albert-edwards-sees-sp-plunging-65-2016-01-12) -- a prediction made by Société Générale's bearish global strategist Albert Edwards on Wednesday -- shouldn't be used as a base case, but caution may be a prudent course right now, Nicholson said.
"Trimming back position size, increasing cash holdings, tightening stop losses, putting some money into gold, hedging portfolio positions through put options or index shorts are all valid actions in the event that markets continue this slide," he said.
Read:Why it's wrong to sell everything when markets fall (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-its-wrong-to-sell-everything-when-markets-fall-2016-01-13)
Crude oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brent-crude-taps-under-30-a-barrel-as-investors-begin-to-panic-about-iran-oil-2016-01-14) -- one trigger for the sharp selloff for Wall Street -- attempted to stabilize on Thursday, rising 30 cents to $30.78 a barrel. Brent crude fell below $30 a barrel in Asia trading, though prices later recovered to rise above that level in Europe.
There's just a smattering of data on the calendar, with weekly jobless claims and December import prices coming at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard will give a speech on economy and monetary policy on Thursday.
Read:Sell everything? This economist says that is nuts -- and will bet $7,000 on it (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sell-everything-this-economist-says-thats-nuts-and-will-bet-7000-on-it-2016-01-13)
Stocks to watch: J.P. Morgan (JPM) is due to report fourth quarter earnings ahead of the market's open. A survey of analysts by FactSet is calling for adjusted earnings of $1.29 a share on $23.3 billion in revenue. Intel Corp. (INTC) will report after the market closes. See: What to watch for in Intel earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-watch-for-in-intel-earnings-2016-01-13)
Staying on bank news, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) plans to ax up to 10% of its fixed-income traders and salespeople later this year, The Wall Street Journal reported (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-plans-to-cut-up-to-10-of-fixed-income-traders-salespeople-2016-01-13-18103258), citing sources.
Shares of GoPro Inc. (GPRO) were poised for sharp premarket losses after a 23% plunge in late trading. The company shocked markets with a fourth-quarter revenue shortfall and jobs-cut announcement.
Read:After Hero4 bust, GoPro's hopes rest on drones and virtual reality (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/after-hero4-bust-gopros-hopes-rest-on-drones-and-virtual-reality-2016-01-13)
Other markets:European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-set-to-hit-1-year-low-as-oil-china-spook-investors-2016-01-14) were lurching toward a one-year low, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index dropping 2.5%. In Asia, the Shanghai Composite rebounded from a 2.8% plunge earlier in the session (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-stocks-near-bear-market-asian-shares-take-a-beating-2016-01-13) to close up 2%, but the Nikkei 225 index slid 2.7%. The dollar regained some of its footing against the yen, and gold prices moved higher.
Opinion: China's crash isn't as bad as you fear (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-crash-isnt-as-bad-as-you-fear-2016-01-14)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 14, 2016 06:19 ET (11:19 GMT)
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