Stock Futures Look to Extend Wednesday's Rally

U.S. stock futures on Thursday look to extend Wednesday's rally after the Federal Reserve's October meeting minutes relieve some of the uncertainty gripping global markets.
By Keris Alison Lahiff ,

U.S. stock futures on Thursday looked to extend Wednesday's rally after the Federal Reserve's minutes from the central bank's October meeting relieved some of the uncertainty gripping global markets.  

S&P 500 futures added 0.22%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures added 0.27%. 

U.S. stocks shot above 1% on Wednesday after the central bank's meeting minutes upped the chances of a December rate hike and gave investors, and businesses, the ability to plan for the inevitable move. Most Fed members supported a rate hike next month, according to the minutes. However, members emphasized that no decision had been made and any move continued to be contingent on data. 

Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. fell by 5,000 to 271,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, a sign of continuing tightening in the labor market. The average number of new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 3,000 to 270,750, an eight-week high but still at 15-year lows. 

The Philadelphia Fed Index, a measure of business conditions in the region, showed improvement in November after two months of disappointing readings. The index rose to 1.9 over the month from negative 4.5 in October. 

Best Buy (BBY) - Get Report shares slumped 8% after disappointing quarterly sales and after it issued a gloomy holiday forecast. The electronics chain reported domestic same-store sales growth of 0.5%, far below estimates of 1.5% growth. The company expects a low-single digit percentage decline in revenue over the fourth quarter.

Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) shares spiked more than 17% in premarket trading after the coffeemaker company hiked its quarterly dividend to 32.5 cents a share. However, quarterly results disappointed expectations. Net income of 61 cents a share fell short of estimates of 70 cents, while revenue slid 13%. 

Salesforce (CRM) - Get Report jumped 6% before the bell after far better-than-expected quarterly results. The cloud computing company earned an adjusted 21 cents a share, well above estimates of 4 cents a share, while revenue spiked 24% to $1.7 billion. Salesforce also raised its full-year 2016 sales guidance to $6.6 billion.  

L Brands (LB) - Get Report added nearly 1% after quarterly earnings beat estimates and sales jumped more than 7%. The clothing company also raised its full-year profit guidance to at least $3.69 a share, higher than a prior base of $3.58. 

JM Smucker (SJM) - Get Report shares were on watch after the company earned $1.62 a share in its second quarter, 11 cents above estimates. The foods and household goods company reported a 40% jump in sales, driven by its acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands earlier in the year.  

Mobile payments processing company Square (SQ) - Get Report priced its IPO at $9 a share for a $2.9 billion valuation in a closely watched float. The company, run by Twitter (TWTR) - Get Report CEO Jack Dorsey, is one of the few private companies valued at $1 billion or more. Square had previously set its IPO price range between $11 and $13 a share, valuing the company at up to $4.2 billion. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange is scheduled for Thursday.

Match (MTCH) - Get Report , another high-profile IPO, is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Thursday morning. The owner of dating sites OKCupid and Tinder priced its IPO at $12 a share, the low-end of its $12 to $14 range. The float will raise $400 million.

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