US Stock Futures Bounce Higher After Three Days of Losses
New York (Dec 10) US stock futures pointed to a rebound on Thursday morning after three sessions of losses on Wall Street.
S&P 500 futures were up 0.27%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.18%, and Nasdaq futures added 0.28%.
Stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday after Apple (AAPL) led the tech sector in a selloff and worries over oil resurfaced. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 1.5%.
The countdown to next week's Federal Reserve meeting has begun. The Fed is likely to hike rates at the conclusion of its two-day meeting next Wednesday, the first move higher in nearly a decade. Odds for a hike were boosted after a better-than-expected November jobs report last week.
"Once off zero, the path of policy will be fraught with 'considerable uncertainty'" Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note. "We expect the Fed to strengthen its message of gradualism and reconstruct the statement to ring in a change in policy."
First Solar (FSLR - Get Report) tumbled more than 10% in premarket trading after issuing disappointing 2016 guidance. The alternative-energy company said it expects full-year revenue between $3.9 billion and $4.1 billion, compared to analysts' estimates of $4.09 billion.
General Electric (GE - Get Report) was slightly higher on reports it is in advanced talks to buy the drilling-services division of Halliburton (HAL - Get Report) . Halliburton, the oilfields services company, is selling some of its assets in order to win regulatory approval for its takeover of Baker Hughes (BHI - Get Report) .
Chevron (CVX - Get Report) shares were on watch after the oiler announced deep cuts to its exploration and production capital spending plans. The company plans to reduce capital expenditures by 24% by 2016. Oil companies have been cutting planned spending in the face of an extended period of low oil prices.
Crude oil was flat on Thursday after closing lower for its fourth straight session on Wednesday. Crude had briefly rallied after weekly inventories showed a decline of 3.6 million barrels, though worries over continued weak demand and oversupply persisted. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $37.16 a barrel early Thursday.
Source: TheStreet
