U.S. stock futures weakened Thursday after failing to move past a key technical barrier in the last session, with an improved outlook from Wal-Mart Stores not enough to move the broader.
S&P 500 futures fell 4.1 points to 1092.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 7 points to 1776.70. Dow industrial futures fell 36 points.
U.S. stocks finished stronger on Wednesday on light volumes during Veterans Day, as speeches from Federal Reserve officials convinced traders that interest rates will be kept at low levels for some time to come. The Dow rose 44 points to reach a new high for the year, the S&P 500 added 5.5 points to finish just shy of the 1100 level and the Nasdaq Composite rose 15 points.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) hiked its earnings outlook after reporting a forecast-beating third quarter profit, although that came on sales growth of just 1%. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT, $52.97, +$0.66, 1.26%) droped 1.09 percent to $52.39 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, Wal-Mart shares were up 1.26 percent and closed on $52.97.
Mergers-and-acquisition activity has been one of the leading factors behind a recent rally, and 3Coms Corp. (COMS) is due to leap after Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) said it’s going to buy the networking equipment firm for $2.7 billion. 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS, $5.69, +$0.28, 5.18%) rose 33.39 percent to $7.59 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, shares of 3Com were up 5.18 percent, and closed on $5.69 and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ, $50.00, +$0.04, 0.08%) droped 1.50 percent to $49.25 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, even on Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard shares were up 0.08 percent and closed on $50.00.
United Technologies Corp. agreed to buy General Electric Co.’s fire alarm and surveillance-systems unit for $1.82 billion, adding dealers, customers and products to its commercial-building offerings. United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX, $66.97, +$0.24, 0.36%) rose 0.04 percent to $67.00 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, even on Wednesday, shares of United Technologies were up 0.36 percent, closed on $66.97, and closed on $5.69 and General Electric Company (NYSE:GE, $15.83, +$0.05, 0.32%) droped 0.32 percent to $15.78 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, General Electric shares were up 0.32 percent and closed on $15.83.
Diversified media and entertainment company Walt Disney Co. (DIS), which recently received approval from China to set up its theme park in Shanghai, is scheduled to report fourth-quarter results after the market closes on Thursday. On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to earn $0.41 per share for the quarter, with estimates in the range of $0.35-$0.53 per share. Revenue for the quarter is estimated to be $9.26 billion. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS, $29.29, +$0.17, 0.58%) droped 0.31 percent to $29.20 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, even on Wednesday, shares of Walt Disney were up 0.58 percent, closed on $29.29
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