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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing lower Thursday following global stocks to the downside after the U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter.

European stocks were falling in early trading. Asian shares finished mostly in the red, but Japan's Nikkei 225 index bucked the trend, finishing Thursday with a gain of 0.2%.

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The economic calendar in the U.S. Thursday includes weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EST, and personal income and personal spending reports for December from the Commerce Department, also at 8:30 a.m.

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U.S. stocks on Wednesday finished lower after the government said the economy contracted in the fourth quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 22 points, or 0.2%, to 13,933. The S&P 500 fell 6 points, or 0.4%, to 1,502. The Nasdaq slipped 11 points, or 0.4%, to 3,142.

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Facebook's (FB) fourth-quarter earnings topped Wall Street expectations as revenue jumped 40%.

The social-networking giant said Wednesday it earned a non-GAAP 17 cents a share in the quarter on revenue of $1.585 billion in revenue. Revenue from advertising rose 41% to $1.33 billion, making up 84% of total revenue. Mobile revenue represented 23% of advertising revenue in the fourth quarter, up from 14% in the third quarter.

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Qualcomm (QCOM), the chipmaker, blew past Wall Street's fiscal first-quarter estimates and offered robust second-quarter guidance.

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Shipping giant UPS (UPS) is expected by analysts Thursday to post quarterly profit of $1.38 a share, up from 83 cents a share a year earlier.

Revenue for the fourth quarter is forecast to come in at $14.43 billion.

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Citigroup (C) is looking to pull out of consumer banking in more countries in an effort to lower costs and boost profits, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

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Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A), Europe's largest oil company, said fourth-quarter net earnings rose 2.6% to $6.67 billion, coming in below analysts' expectations.

Shell said it would raise its dividend in 2013 to 45 cents a share, a 4.7% boost from the year earlier.

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Deutsche Bank (DB) posted a big and unexpected fourth-quarter loss of €2.15 billion ($2.91 billion) as it reduced the value of assets and incurred lawsuit expenses.

A year earlier, the bank posted profit of €186 million.

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MasterCard (MA) is expected by analysts Thursday to report fourth-quarter earnings of $4.82 a share on revenue of $1.89 billion.

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Bankrupt Hostess picked a joint offer from Dean Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo Global Management as the lead bidder for its Twinkies cakes.

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-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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