Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know
NEW YORK (
) -- U.S. stock futures were rising Thursday despite declined across the globe over fears the U.S. won't be able to reach an agreement quickly on resolving the so-called fiscal cliff.
European stocks were trading in the red. It was reported Thursday that the eurozone fell back into recession for the first time in three years.
Asian shares ended Thursday's session mostly lower following a leadership change in China. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan, however, rallied 1.9% to close at 8,829.72 on reports that Japanese parliamentary elections have been set for Dec. 16 and amid a weakening yen.
The economic calendar in the U.S. Thursday includes weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EST, the consumer price index for October at 8:30 a.m., and the Empire State manufacturing survey for November at 8:30 a.m.
on Wednesday were dragged lower by persistent worries over the fiscal cliff.
The
Dow Jones Industrial Average
closed down more than 185 points, or 1.45%, at 12,571. The blue-chip index, which has fallen in five of the past six sessions, is up just 2.89% year to date.
The
S&P 500
finished off more than 19 points, or 1.39%, at 1355, while the
Nasdaq
lost a little more than 37 points, or 1.29%, to settle at 2847.
BP
(BP) - Get Report
said Thursday it is in advanced talks with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission about settling criminal and other claims from the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010.
A source told
Reuters
that BP's settlement payment would be the largest criminal penalty in U.S. history.
Wal-Mart Stores
(WMT) - Get Report
, the world's largest retailer, is expected by analysts to report before Thursday's opening bell quarterly earnings of $1.07 a share on revenue of $115 billion.
Rival
Target
(TGT) - Get Report
also reports third-quarter results on Thursday, and analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters
forecast a profit of 77 cents a share in the October-ended period on revenue of $16.92 billion.
PC maker
Dell
(DELL) - Get Report
is expected by analysts Thursday to post a third-quarter profit of 40 cents a share on revenue of $13.89 billion. Dell reports after the closing bell.
Other companies slated to report before Thursday's open include
Bon-Ton Stores
(BONT)
,
Children's Place
(PLCE) - Get Report
,
Dollar Tree Stores
(DLTR) - Get Report
,
GameStop
(GME) - Get Report
,
Perry Ellis
(PERY) - Get Report
,
Ross Stores
(ROST) - Get Report
,
Stage Stores
( STGS),
Stein Mart
(SMRT) - Get Report
,
The Buckle
(BKE) - Get Report
, and
Viacom
(VIAB) - Get Report
.
The late roster features
Applied Materials
(AMAT) - Get Report
,
Aruba Networks
(ARUN)
,
Autodesk
(ADSK) - Get Report
,
Cosi
(COSI)
,
Dole Food
(DOLE)
,
Gap
(GPS) - Get Report
,
Intuit
(INTU) - Get Report
,
Marvell Technology
(MRVL) - Get Report
,
New York & Co.
(NWY)
,
Sears Holdings
(SHLD)
,
Sina Corp.
(SINA) - Get Report
, and
The Wet Seal
( WTSLA).
Texas Instruments
(NTAP) - Get Report
announced Wednesday fresh restructuring plans that call for the elimination of 1,700 jobs, or roughly 5% of its work force. The company anticipates charges totaling $325 million in connection with the restructuring program.
Texas Instruments is targeting annual savings of $450 million from the moves.
Honeywell
(HON) - Get Report
and
Rockwell Collins
(COL)
are set to receive major contracts to supply systems to
Boeing
(BA) - Get Report
for its updated 737 Max jetliner, two people familiar with the decisions told
The Wall Street Journal
.
Australia's
GrainCorp
on Thursday rejected a $2.8 billion takeover bid from
Archer Daniels Midland
(ADM) - Get Report
.
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
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Joseph Woelfel
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.
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