U.S. stock futures were lower once again Thursday morning. After the first two days of gains that Wall Street had in a few weeks, a third day looks unlikely. [Update: A surprising retail sales report, with a lower decline than expected, has futures mixed at this time. Jobless claims, however, rose more than expected.]
Stocks overseas stalled after the World Bank predicted --ahead of the G20 finance ministers meeting -- the global economy might shrink 1-2% this year. Another Big Pharma mega-deal as Genentech (NYSE: DNA) agreed to a buyout from Roche worth $48.6 billion couldn't offset the view the recent two-day rally could be sustainable.
This wasn't all. Despite the many steps taken by financial institutions and the government, the number of households threatened with losing their homes rose 30% in February from last year's levels, RealtyTrac reported Thursday.
While this was shocking in itself, news from across sectors and countries wasn't encouraging, like the fact that the Japanese economy contracted at a 12.1% annual rate in the fourth quarter, or that the Swiss central bank might cut its interest rate to the lowest level since 2004 today, 0.25% as it tries to revive the economy.
There are several economic indicators out today:
- At 8:30 am, weekly jobless initial claims is due. The jobs market has been in shambles, and only Wednesday data showed four states' jobless rates climbed higher than 10%.
- At the same time, retail sales numbers for February will be reported. Following last month's surprise, retail sales are expected to have declined.
- At 10 am, January business inventories will be released.
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