After selling off on Fed statement wording, investors to determine how much it matters.
January 29, 2004: 5:49 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks will get the chance to recover Thursday from a selloff over the Fed's change in wording about when interest rates will be rising again.
At 5:45 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a higher start for the major indexes
U.S. markets tumbled Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve policy makers, in leaving rates at four-decade lows, said they would be "patient" before raising interest rates. That was a change from the previous promise to leave rates alone for a "considerable period," a change that was unexpected by economists.
"They keep fiddling with the language, and the general tone of the directive keeps getting a little less dovish," said Ethan Harris, chief economist at Lehman Brothers.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.3 percent Wednesday, while the Nasdaq composite index slid 1.8 percent.
Other than the Fed aftermath, corporate earnings and economic reports will keep investors busy.
Three Dow components are among the companies scheduled to issue fourth-quarter results before the open. Leading the way is Exxon Mobil (XOM: Research, Estimates), the world's biggest oil company, whose profit is seen growing to 58 cents a share from 56 cents, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call. The report will come a day after the company confirmed that a judge has raised punitive damages for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska to $4.5 billion from $4 billion.
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Exxon Mobil was down more than 1 percent.
Also reporting results will be aerospace manufacturer Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates), whose earnings are seen tumbling to 46 cents a share from 71 cents a year earlier, and conglomerate Honeywell International (HON: Research, Estimates), whose income is projected to have slipped to 47 cents a share from 50 cents.
The weekly initial jobless claims report -- due before the open -- is seen little changed at 340,000 in the week ended Jan. 24 from 341,000 in the prior week, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Also before the open, the fourth-quarter employment cost index is seen increasing 0.9 percent, after a 1 percent rise in the third quarter.
Asian-Pacific stocks retreated Thursday after Wall Street's decline and amid concern about the dollar's strength; Tokyo's Nikkei index slipped 0.7 percent. Europe's leading indexes were about 1 percent lower in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.19 percent. The dollar weakened against the euro, but gained a little ground versus the yen.
Brent oil futures slipped 5 cents to $29.72 a barrel in London. Gold was lower.
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