A chill hitting stocks

U.S. cold snap helps send oil prices higher, pushing stock futures lower; AT&T up on merger talk.

January 27, 2005: 7:18 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A cold snap in the Northeast sent oil prices higher and could send a chill through stocks Thursday.

U.S. stock futures were mixed, with Nasdaq 100 futures slightly higher while Standard & Poor's 500 futures were down. But both were below fair value levels, indicating a lower open.

Oil prices, which slipped Wednesday on the U.S. fuel inventory report, were higher in early trading Thursday. Besides the cold weather, oil traders were looking ahead to Sunday's meeting of OPEC as well as the elections set for Iraq.

 
The March light crude contract gained 31 cents to $49.09 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude rose 25 cents to $46.76.

Futures came off earlier lows afterNokia (Research), the world's largest maker of cell phones, reported better than expected sales and revenue in the fourth quarter. The Finnish company also gave first-quarter revenue guidance above forecasts, although earning guidance was below forecasts.

Major Asian markets were mixed, as Japan's Nikkei lost ground on tech concerns while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained. Major European markets were lower in early trading.

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, AT&T (Research) shares gained 7 percent in Frankfurt on reports in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times that SBC Communications (Research) was in discussions to buy its former parent.

U.S. stocks will start trading Thursday following a second day of gains, matching the longest rally seen in the rocky start of 2005 trading.

Bond prices fell, lifting the yield on the 10-year treasury to 4.21 percent from 4.19 percent late Wednesday. The dollar gained on both the euro and the yen.

In economic reports, readings are due Thursday morning on December durable goods orders and on initial jobless claims filed last week.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that durable goods orders gained 0.7 percent in the month, down from a 1.4 percent rise in November, while initial jobless claims were expected to have risen to 330,000 from 319,000 the previous week.

Consumer electronics and media conglomerate Sony (Research) reported improved earnings in its fiscal third quarter, helped by strong sales of its Spider-Man 2 DVD. But its core electronics business resulted in lower overall sales.

Among U.S. companies, Starbucks (Research) reported strong gain in earnings after the market close Wednesday that edged past forecasts, although its guidance of current quarter sales and earnings that was at or below the current consensus levels. That sent shares down 99 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $54.35 in after-hours trading.

Dell (Research) , the world's largest maker of personal computer, expects to see its sales grow significantly faster than the overall market in 2005 and maintain its healthy margins, chairman and CEO Michael Dell said at an economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday.

Earnings are due Thursday morning from Dow components Caterpillar (Research) and Verizon Communications (Research), as well as from retailer Sears Roebuck & Co. (Research) and United Parcel Service (Research), the world's largest transportation company. The major earnings report of the day comes after the close when software provider Microsoft (Research) is set to report.