2/2/2012 6:31 AM ET
(RTTNews) - Wall Street's optimism has been tempered, as traders turn apprehensive against the backdrop of an economy that is showing strength in some pockets, while also remaining tenuous. The index futures point to a modestly positive opening on Wall Street on Thursday. Traders may focus on the jobless claims report, a few Fed speeches and the state of Greece's negotiations with its private sector creditors. Meanwhile, the Spanish and French debt auctions held today were fairly encouraging.
As of 6:30 am ET, the Dow futures are up 1 point, the S&P 500 futures are adding 0.90 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving up 0.50 points.
U.S. stocks rebounded on Wednesday, as economic reports reinforced the view that the economic momentum had not faltered. After opening higher on the back of a fairly in line private sector jobs report, the major averaged held their gains for the much of the session before easing slightly, yet closed notably higher.
On the economic front, the Labor Department is due to release its customary jobless claims report for the week ended January 28th at 8:30 AM ET. Economists expect claims to have declined to 370,000 after rising by 21,000 to 377,000 in the week ended January 21st.
The U.S. Labor Department is also scheduled to release its preliminary fourth quarter non-farm productivity and unit labor costs at 8:30 AM.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is due to speak on "The Economic Outlook and the Federal Budget Situation" before the Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives." At 10 am ET. Additionally, Richard Fisher will speak to the Headliners Club of Austin, Texas on the economy and monetary policy at 7:15 pm ET.
In corporate news, Allstate (ALL) reported fourth quarter operating income that exceeded estimates, as catastrophe losses declined.
Qualcomm (QCOM) reported first quarter adjusted earnings of 97 cents per share, ahead of the 90 cents per share consensus estimate. Revenues grew 40 percent and also exceeded estimates. The company issued healthy second quarter and full year guidance.
Electronic Arts' (ERTS) third quarter earnings and revenues exceeded estimates, while it issued a weak guidance for its fourth quarter.
Las Vegas (LVS) reported fourth quarter adjusted net income of 57 cents per share, in line with estimates. Revenues rose 26.3 percent to $2.54 billion but were slightly shy of estimates.
Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) reported better than expected first quarter results, while it issued a below consensus guidance for the second quarter, while it reaffirmed its 2012 earnings guidance, which was mostly above consensus estimates.
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