24/07/2003 16:05
Wall Street was seen opening higher on Thursday as weekly first time jobless claims data in the US showed a sharp fall, increasing hopes a strong second-half recovery may be on track.
Futures trade pointed to opening gains, with Dow futures up 62 points, S&P futures 6.4 points higher and Nasdaq futures up 11 points.
Investors eagerly awaiting US initial jobless claims - the first major set of US data this week - were not disappointed. Claims for the week ending July 19 were expected to rise, but fell by 29,000 to 386,000 from 412,000 in the previous week. This was the first time initial claims had fallen below 400,000 for 22 consecutive weeks.
Comments by Ben Bernanke, a governor on the board of the Federal Reserve, were overshadowed by the claims data, but he reminded investors on Wednesday that the subject of deflation was never very far from the Fed's agenda.
Although minimal, he said the risks posed by deflation still outweighed those of a resurgence of inflation.
Corporate earnings continued apace, with several Dow components reporting ahead of the opening bell. Two thirds of the S&P companies that have reported so far have managed to beat forecasts, but the guidance has remained cautious.
"This has led many to conclude the market has peaked," said analysts at Nomura. "But what people do is more important than what they say - hence, the recovery in M&A suggests a revival in corporate confidence."
Those reporting on Thursday included AT&T, the fixed line telephone carrier. It said earnings per share was up to 68 cents from 35 cents a year ago, and beat forecasts of 53 cents per share.
Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, reported earings of 15 cents a share, bang in line with expectations, but down from the 17 cents a share it announced in the same quarter a year ago.
Drugmakers Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb reported ahead of the market open. The former announcing earnings per share of 64 cents from 61 a year ago, beating expectations of 60 cents. Bristol reported 45 cents a share compared with 25 a year earlier and beating forecasts of 38 cents.
International Paper, said its earnings were down to 19 cents a share from 45 cents in the same quarter last year, but the number beat Wall Street forecasts.
Futures trade pointed to opening gains, with Dow futures up 62 points, S&P futures 6.4 points higher and Nasdaq futures up 11 points.
Investors eagerly awaiting US initial jobless claims - the first major set of US data this week - were not disappointed. Claims for the week ending July 19 were expected to rise, but fell by 29,000 to 386,000 from 412,000 in the previous week. This was the first time initial claims had fallen below 400,000 for 22 consecutive weeks.
Comments by Ben Bernanke, a governor on the board of the Federal Reserve, were overshadowed by the claims data, but he reminded investors on Wednesday that the subject of deflation was never very far from the Fed's agenda.
Although minimal, he said the risks posed by deflation still outweighed those of a resurgence of inflation.
Corporate earnings continued apace, with several Dow components reporting ahead of the opening bell. Two thirds of the S&P companies that have reported so far have managed to beat forecasts, but the guidance has remained cautious.
"This has led many to conclude the market has peaked," said analysts at Nomura. "But what people do is more important than what they say - hence, the recovery in M&A suggests a revival in corporate confidence."
Those reporting on Thursday included AT&T, the fixed line telephone carrier. It said earnings per share was up to 68 cents from 35 cents a year ago, and beat forecasts of 53 cents per share.
Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland, reported earings of 15 cents a share, bang in line with expectations, but down from the 17 cents a share it announced in the same quarter a year ago.
Drugmakers Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb reported ahead of the market open. The former announcing earnings per share of 64 cents from 61 a year ago, beating expectations of 60 cents. Bristol reported 45 cents a share compared with 25 a year earlier and beating forecasts of 38 cents.
International Paper, said its earnings were down to 19 cents a share from 45 cents in the same quarter last year, but the number beat Wall Street forecasts.
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