Stock Futures Dip Ahead of Jobless Claims

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were dipping slightly Thursday as investors awaited the latest initial jobless claims data and more details on the European Central Bank and Bank of England's policy updates.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were falling 12 points, or 10.9 points below fair value, at 12,831. Futures for the S&P 500 were down 2 points, or 1.6 points below fair value, at 1345, and futures for the Nasdaq were off 3 points, or 2.2 points below fair value, at 2540.

Stocks finished higher Wednesday as the market digested news that the ECB remains divided over how it will contribute to a Greek debt restructuring and as Prime Minister Lucas Papademos began negotiations with Greek political leaders.

The first major U.S. economic release of the week comes out Thursday. Economists expect the Labor Department to report that the number of Americans filing initial jobless claims rose to 370,000 from 367,000 last week, according to Thomson Reuters. The report will be the first on jobs since the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Friday that the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 8.3%, the lowest level in almost three years.

Testifying in front of the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made no mention of last week's strong jobs report, and instead said that the labor market has a long way to go before it will return to normal. Bernanke essentially reiterated the thoughts on fiscal policy that he had presented to lawmakers the previous week.

The Bank of England early Thursday injected another 50 billion pounds ($79 billion) of new money into the United Kingdom, which saw its economy shrink at the end of last year. The ECB, meeting in Frankfurt, will likely outline the benefits of its second unlimited offering of cheap, three-year loans that will be distributed to banks on Feb. 29, said reports.

After the ECB meeting, it is hoped that its president Mario Draghi will shed some light on whether the ECB will try to help take some pressure off of Greece's massive debt burden by giving up profits on its €55 billion ($72 billion) in Greek bond holdings.

On Thursday, Greece once again failed to strike a deal on structural reforms and austerity measures that is integral to the country's ability to receive a new bailout from European partners and the International Monetary Fund. Leaders of the three parties backing the Greek coalition say the main stumbling block to the negotiations was the demand by the country's lenders to cut pensions steeply. The country's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos was set to leave for Brussels to meet with other European finance ministers with an incomplete agreement.

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London's FTSE was rising 0.28%, and Germany's DAX was gaining 0.50%. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei Average settled down 0.15%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index finished lower by 0.04%.

In corporate news, Dow component Cisco Systems(CSCO), the networking-equipment maker, topped analysts' earnings expectations and raised its quarterly dividend by more than 30%. Cisco reported non-GAAP earnings of $2.6 billion, or 47 cents a share, in its fiscal second quarter on revenue of $11.5 billion.

Analysts were expecting Cisco to report earnings of 43 cents a share on revenue of $11.23 billion.

Groupon(GRPN) posted a loss in its first quarterly report as a public company. The daily deals Web site, posted a pro forma adjusted fourth-quarter loss of $9.8 million, or 2 cents a share, on revenue of $506.5 million, more than triple the revenue recorded in the year-earlier equivalent period. The company said adjusted results in the latest quarter reflect a negative impact of 7 cents a share from high taxes on its international operations. Analysts were expecting adjusted profit of 3 cents a share on revenue of $475 million in the quarter.

Credit Suisse (CS), Switzerland's second-biggest bank, posted a fourth-quarter loss of 637 million Swiss francs ($698 million), wider than analysts' expectations of a loss of 431 million francs. A year earlier, the bank earned 841 million francs.

"Our performance for the fourth quarter 2011 was disappointing," said CEO Brady Dougan. "It reflects both the adverse market conditions during the period and the impact of the measures we have taken to swiftly adapt our business to the evolving market and regulatory requirements."

Credit Suisse recorded a restructuring charge in the quarter of 981 million francs.

Diamond Foods(DMND), the snack company, said it needs to restate its financials for the past two years to properly account for certain payments to walnut growers.

The company also named an acting CEO and CFO, placing Michael Mendes and Steven Neil on administrative leave, and said it's working to complete the restatements and file required reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is probing Diamond Foods along with the Justice Department.

March oil futures were up 66 cents to $99.37 a barrel, while April gold futures were up $3.40 to $1,734.70 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury was falling 5/32, raising the yield to 2.002%, while the U.S. dollar index was down 0.3% at $78.49.

-- Written by Andrea Tse in New York.

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