The dollar's renewed weakness, the continued high price of oil futures and a blow against a Microsoft antitrust settlement attempt could set a negative tone for U.S. markets when trading begins Thursday.
Early Thursday, futures pointed to a lower start for the major indexes, after Wednesday's solid gains.
The dollar tumbled against the yen amid talk that the Bank of Japan will no longer intervene to prop the U.S. currency, although Japanese officials say they will continue to buy dollars when they deem it necessary. The dollar was also lower, though not as sharply, versus the euro.
As for oil futures, they were modestly lower but remained close to the 13-month highs set Wednesday. And there was little hope for a sharp pullback as OPEC's chief said he expects the cartel to go ahead with a planned production cut next month.
Brent crude pulled back 39 cents to $33.14 a barrel in London.
The European Commission and Microsoft failed to reach a settlement in a landmark antitrust case Thursday and the EU executive will now rule against the world's largest software firm, the top EU regulator said.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) shares fell 43 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $24.80 in before-hours trading Thursday.
The long awaited January wholesale inflation report and the weekly report on initial unemployment filings were among the economic reports released before Thursday's trading session.
The Labor Department said its producer price index (PPI), a measure of wholesale prices, rose 0.6 percent after rising a revised 0.2 percent in December. The so-called core PPI, which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3 percent after falling 0.1 percent in December.
The January PPI was delayed for more than a month as the Bureau of Labor Statistics fiddled with the industry classifications it used in the report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected to see a 0.4 percent gain, compared with a 0.3 percent rise in December; excluding food and energy, producer prices were seen rising 0.1 percent.
Also out Thursday before the bell is the weekly jobless claims report. The Department of Labor said initial jobless claims fell to 336,000 from a revised 342,000 in the prior week. Wall Street had expected initial claims of 345,000, according to Briefing.com.
After the markets open, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for February is expected to show a 0.1 percent increase, compared with a 0.5 percent rise in January.
Then, at midday, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of economic activity for March is forecast to decline to 30 from 31.4 in February.
It was a second straight day of gains for the major indexes, as investors cheered some positive earnings reports and an upgrade of Internet portal Yahoo! The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.1 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 1.7 percent (see chart for details).
Asian-Pacific stocks gained ground Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.4 percent. European markets were hurt by Bayer's disappointing results in the early going. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates) edged lower. Shareholders of the computer products company voted Wednesday to support expensing the value of stock options.
Treasury prices gained ground in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.69 percent from 3.70 percent late Wednesday. Gold advanced.
Early Thursday, futures pointed to a lower start for the major indexes, after Wednesday's solid gains.
The dollar tumbled against the yen amid talk that the Bank of Japan will no longer intervene to prop the U.S. currency, although Japanese officials say they will continue to buy dollars when they deem it necessary. The dollar was also lower, though not as sharply, versus the euro.
As for oil futures, they were modestly lower but remained close to the 13-month highs set Wednesday. And there was little hope for a sharp pullback as OPEC's chief said he expects the cartel to go ahead with a planned production cut next month.
Brent crude pulled back 39 cents to $33.14 a barrel in London.
The European Commission and Microsoft failed to reach a settlement in a landmark antitrust case Thursday and the EU executive will now rule against the world's largest software firm, the top EU regulator said.
Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) shares fell 43 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $24.80 in before-hours trading Thursday.
The long awaited January wholesale inflation report and the weekly report on initial unemployment filings were among the economic reports released before Thursday's trading session.
The Labor Department said its producer price index (PPI), a measure of wholesale prices, rose 0.6 percent after rising a revised 0.2 percent in December. The so-called core PPI, which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3 percent after falling 0.1 percent in December.
The January PPI was delayed for more than a month as the Bureau of Labor Statistics fiddled with the industry classifications it used in the report. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected to see a 0.4 percent gain, compared with a 0.3 percent rise in December; excluding food and energy, producer prices were seen rising 0.1 percent.
Also out Thursday before the bell is the weekly jobless claims report. The Department of Labor said initial jobless claims fell to 336,000 from a revised 342,000 in the prior week. Wall Street had expected initial claims of 345,000, according to Briefing.com.
After the markets open, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for February is expected to show a 0.1 percent increase, compared with a 0.5 percent rise in January.
Then, at midday, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of economic activity for March is forecast to decline to 30 from 31.4 in February.
It was a second straight day of gains for the major indexes, as investors cheered some positive earnings reports and an upgrade of Internet portal Yahoo! The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.1 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 1.7 percent (see chart for details).
Asian-Pacific stocks gained ground Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.4 percent. European markets were hurt by Bayer's disappointing results in the early going. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates) edged lower. Shareholders of the computer products company voted Wednesday to support expensing the value of stock options.
Treasury prices gained ground in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.69 percent from 3.70 percent late Wednesday. Gold advanced.
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