WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Wall Street has chosen to remain cautious after the major averages traded in record territory in successive sessions. The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a slightly lower opening on Friday. Earlier in the global trading day, Asian stocks closed mostly higher, with the Chinese market being the stand out performer on easing credit concerns, while the European markets are also witnessing strong buying in post-holiday trade. With little catalysts to drive trading, the domestic markets may see some degree of consolidation.
As of 6:30 am ET, the Dow futures are slipping 3 points, the S&P 500 futures are declining 2 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are receding 2.25 points.
U.S. stocks benefitted from the Santa Claus rally and ended Thursday's session moderately higher, with a positive jobless claims data providing the trigger for buying.
On the economic front, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its petroleum status report for the week ended December 21st at 11 am ET.
In corporate news, Shire (SHPG) announced that it has extended the expiration of its previously announced tender offer for all outstanding shares of ViroPharma (VPHM) until midnight, New York City time on Thursday, January 9th, 2014. The deadline has been extended from December 26th, 2013.
Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) announced the acquisition of Cleveland Insurance Group located in Rock Island, Illinois. The companies did not reveal the terms of the deal.
Textron (TXT) agreed to acquire Beech Holdings for $1.4 billion in cash. The deal has been unanimously supported by Beechcraft's board and is expected to close in the first half of 2014.
Most Asian markets closed higher, tracking the positive close on Wall Street overnight. The Chinese market rebounded strongly, leading the gains in the region, while the Australian and the New Zealand markets bucked the uptrend by posting modest losses. With Chinese benchmark money market rate falling, worries concerning a cash crunch in the world's second largest economy eased.
The Japanese market saw a small setback in momentum after some strong economic data led to some stabilization in the value of the yen. Japan's Nikkei 225 average opened higher but declined in late trading and languished below the unchanged line until late trading. By virtue of a late hour recovery, the index ended up merely 4.50 points or 0.03 percent at 16,179.
After opening higher and a short spike in early trading, Australia's All Ordinaries declined steadily throughout the session, dropping below the unchanged line in late trading and ending down 1.60 points or 0.03 percent at 5,324. Energy and healthcare stocks declined strongly, while material stocks saw some strength.
China's Shanghai Composite Index closed at 2,101, up 28.15 points or 1.36 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 63.69 points or 0.27 percent higher at 23,243.
On the economic front, a spate of economic data was released from Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication reported that average household spending in Japan edged up 0.2 percent year-over-year in November, shy of forecasts for a 1.8 percent increase. Average monthly income per household was down 1.1 percent.
A separate report showed that annual core consumer price inflation was 1.2 percent in November, up from 0.9 percent in October. Core consumer prices in Tokyo, considered a leading index for the whole of Japan was up 0.7 percent year-over-year in December. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4 percent in November, although worse than the 3.9 percent rate expected by economists.
Retail sales in Japan rose 4 percent year-over-year in November, ahead of forecasts for 3 percent growth. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary release that industrial production edged up 0.1 percent month-over-month in November compared to expectations for 0.4 percent growth.
The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics reported that industrial profits in China climbed 13.2 percent year-over-year in the January to November period, down from the 13.7 percent pace seen in the January to October period.
The major European markets, which opened after 2-day Christmas break, opened higher and have been seeing notable strength since then. The markets seem to have taken cues from Wall Street's buoyancy despite the absence of any major trading trigger. The German DAX Index has been trading in unchartered territory.
On the economic front, a report released by French statistical office INSEE showed that French producer prices fell 0.6 percent year-over-year compared to the 1.2 percent drop expected by economists. A separate government report showed that French jobless claims rose in November.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX