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The Labor Department will release the customary weekly jobless claims report for the week ended February 20, at 8.30 a.m. Economists expect that jobless claims declined by 13,000 to 460,000 from 473,000 reported for the previous week.
The Commerce Department will table a report on durable goods orders for January at 8.30 a.m. ET. Economists predict that factory orders rose by 1.5% in the month.
At 10.00 a.m. ET, the Federal House Finance Agency, or FHFA, will release its house price index for December. In November, the index registered a marginal 0.7% increase month-over-month from a revised 0.6% increase in October.
Before the market opens for trading, Ambac Financial (ABK), Blackstone (BK), CapitalSource (CSE), Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS), Frontier Oil (FTO), HJ Heinz (HNZ), Kohl's (KSS), Parker Drilling (PKD), Safeway (SWY) and Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) are among the major companies that will be reporting their quarterly results.
Assured Guaranty (AGO), Crocs (CROX), Fluor (FLR), Gap Inc. (GPS), LaSalle Hotel (LHO), Novell (NOVL) and Universal Health (UHS) are among the major companies that will report their quarterly results after the markets close for trading.
After the markets closed for trading in the previous session, Customer relationship management service provider Salesforce.com (CRM) said that its fourth quarter 2010 profit increased from last year, helped by a 22% growth in revenues. Quarterly earnings came in ahead of Street estimates, as did revenue. Further, the company projected its first quarter fiscal year 2011 earnings and revenues to surpass street's view. In addition, the company revised its fiscal 2011 revenue growth outlook from its prior guidance level. Women's apparel and personal care products retailer Limited Brands, Inc. (LTD) reported sharply higher fourth quarter profit, helped by improved sales and the absence of a hefty impairment charge that weighed on year-ago period results. The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations. At the same time, the company raised its February same-store sales outlook.
Oil Light sweet crude oil for April delivery is presently quoted at $79.54 a barrel, down $0.46 from its previous close of $80.00 a barrel in New York on Wednesday.
Dollar The U.S. dollar is presently hovering at a 15-day low against the yen, but trading at a new multi-month high against the pound. Against the euro, the dollar is gaining but eased from a 6-day high.
World Markets The markets across Asia extended losses for the second day amid fresh concerns related to Greece and its budget deficit, which raised doubts about sustaining the pace and magnitude of global economic recovery. Shrugging off early weakness, the markets in Europe are presently trading mixed, encouraged to some extent by better than expected economic data.
by RTT Staff Writer
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