Global stocks were relatively flat on Thursday morning as investors digested the latest batch of U.S. economic news, including reports on inflation and jobless claims.
U.S. stock index futures were unchanged with less than an hour before markets open, suggesting an uneventful start to trading when markets open. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 6 points. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down less than 1 point. Both indexes surged on Wednesday following upbeat earnings and acquisition news, with the S&P 500 passing an interesting threshold: It has doubled from its low point in 2009.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.1 per cent and Germany's DAX index was down 0.1 per cent in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.3 per cent in overnight trading.
Barrick Gold Corp. reported fourth quarter earnings of $896-million (U.S.), or 90 cents a share, up from 21 cents a share last year. After adjusting for one-time items, the results topped analysts' expectations. The shares rose 2.1 per cent in premarket activity in New York. On Wednesday evening, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. reported a jump in its fourth quarter earnings, sending its shares up 10.9 per cent in premarket activity.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims for the period ended last week rose to 410,000, up 25,000 and slightly worse than economists had been expecting.
Meanwhile, consumer prices also rose, raising concerns about inflation once again, at least among some observers. The consumer price index for January rose 0.4 per cent, ahead of expectations for a tamer gain of 0.3 per cent. The so-called "core" rate, which strips out volatile food and energy items and is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, rose 0.2 per cent, also ahead of expectations for a rise of 0.1 per cent. However, the year over year rate of inflation stood at just 1 per cent, which is still below the Fed's informal target of 2 per cent.
David Berman