After the stellar run up that has been aided by positive economic tidings, Wall Street mood appears to be cautious, as it awaits another batch of market moving economic numbers. The U.S. index futures currently point to a slightly lower open. Earlier in the day, Asian stocks closed mixed, while European stocks are uniformly lower, as the European leaders meet at Brussels for the second day. The domestic markets will now turn to a regional manufacturing survey, which will give the first glimpse into the manufacturing sector in March, the industrial output data and a consumer sentiment reading to provide further clarity on the economic outlook.
As of 6:15 pm ET, the Dow futures are moving down 2 points, while the S&P 500 futures are slipping 1.80 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are declining 1.25 points.
U.S. stocks extended its gains on Thursday after the U.S. jobless claims report unexpectedly fell in the recent reporting week.
On the economic front, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its consumer price inflation report for February at 8:30 am ET. Economists estimate consumer price inflation of 0.5 percent and a core consumer price inflation rate of 0.2 percent.
Around the same time, the New York's Federal Reserve is set to release the results of its regional manufacturing survey for March. The business conditions index based on the survey is expected to slid to 10 from 10.04 in February. The Treasury is due to release its report on the flows of financial instruments into and out of the U.S. at 9 am ET.
Shortly after at 9:15 am ET, the Federal Reserve will release its industrial production report for February. The consensus estimates call for a 0.5 percent increase in industrial output, while capacity utilization is expected to have improved to 79.4 percent.
Reuters and the University of Michigan are scheduled to release the results of their preliminary consumer sentiment survey for March at 9:55 am ET. Economists expect the headline consumer sentiment index based on the survey to edge down to 77.5 from 77.6 in February.
In corporate news, Aeropostale (ARO) reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings of 24 cents per share on net sales of $797.7 million, down 1 percent year-over-year. For the first quarter, the company expects a loss of 15-20 cents per share. The results were ahead of estimates, while the guidance was weak.
Zumiez (ZUMZ) reported fourth quarter net income of 74 cents per share compared to 60 cents per share last year and sales rose 22.1 percent to $183.9 million. For the first quarter, the company expects earnings of 4-7 cents per share, including 4 cents per share in charges, on revenues of $141 million to $144 million. The results were better than expected, while the guidance trailed expectations.
Blyth (BTH) reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings of $1.42 per share, lower than $1.80 per share last year. Net sales fell to $331.02 million from $345.55 million in the year-ago quarter. For 2013, the company expects earnings of $1.70-$1.85 per share on overall single digit sales decline.
Sprint (S) and Verizon (VZ) announced separately that they would offer Samsung's recently introduced Galaxy S4. Sprint said it would begin offering Samsung's newest gadget in the second quarter. Aetna (AET) announced that it has tied up with Starr International Insurance (Asia) Ltd. for offering medical insurance and healthcare solutions in Hong Kong.
The major Asian markets closed on a mixed note, with the Japanese, Australian, Indonesian, Chinese and New Zealand markets closing higher, while the rest of the major markets declined.
With the yen continuing to remain at depressed levels after the upper house of the Japanese parliament endorsed the candidature of pro-easing reformist Haruhiko Kuroda as the Governor of the Bank of Japan, the Nikkei 225 average closed notably higher. The average opened higher and moved sideways before advancing in the mid-session. Once again the average consolidated in the afternoon before closing up 179.76 points or 1.45 percent at 12,561.
Most export stocks advanced, while some financial, auto and resource stocks came under selling pressure. Tokyo Dome rallied 15.07 percent and Sony climbed 10.98 percent. Toyobo ended up over 9 percent.
Australia's All Ordinaries moved steadily higher throughout the session, closing up 85.50 points or 1.70 percent at 5,129. The market witnessed broad based strength, with healthcare, consumer staple, energy, financial, material and utility stocks all notching up solid gains.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 22,533, down 86.07 points or 0.38 percent. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite closed 8.12 points or 0.36 percent higher at 2,278.
European stocks have opened lower and have seen further downside since then, as traders take profit from recent gains.
In corporate news, Rentokil reported a narrowing in its pre-tax loss for its fourth quarter on higher revenues. The company also raised its dividend for 2012 to 2.1 pence per share from. Swedish retailer H&M reported comparable store sales decline of 3 percent in February, while its sales, including VAT, were up 2 percent for its first quarter.
Revised inflation report released by Eurostat showed that the eurozone's annual inflation rate for February remained unchanged at 1.9 percent, although it represented a decline from January's 2 percent rate. A separate report showed that the eurozone's hourly labor costs rose 1.3 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, labor costs were up 1.8 percent.
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