BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Corona virus outbreak continues to influence the sentiments of the investors. The World Health Organisation will be convening a meeting to assess the situation in China and other countries.
Earnings of bigwigs such as Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla and expected after the bell on Thursday. In the morning Coco Cola reported a significant growth in earning for the fourth quarter.
Asian shares finished lower, while European shares are trading down.
Initial trend on U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open in the negative territory.
As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 215.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 27.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were falling 62.00 points.
The U.S. major averages ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. The S&P 500 edged down 2.84 points or 0.1 percent to 3,273.40, the Dow crept up 11.60 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 28,734.45 and the Nasdaq inched up 5.48 points or 0.1 percent to 9,275.16.
On the economic front, Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter is expected at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 2.1 percent, unchanged from the prior quarter. Consumer pending is expected to decline to 1.9 percent, while it was up 3.2 percent in the prior quarter.
The Labor Department's Jobless Claims for the week will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The economists are looking for consensus of 215K while it was 211K in the previous week.
The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the change was decline of 92 bcf.
The Fed Balance Sheet for the week is expected at 4.30 pm ET. In the previous week, the level was $4.146 trillion.
The Fed Money Supply for week is scheduled at 4.30 pm ET. The M2 weekly change was up $46.3 billion.
In the corporate sector, Coca-Cola Co. reported a surge in fourth-quarter net profit from last year. Net income attributable to shareowners of the company for the fourth-quarter surged to $2.04 billion or $0.47 per share from $870 million or $0.20 per share in the previous year.
Net revenues for the fourth-quarter grew 16 percent to $9.07 billion from $7.81 billion in the prior year. Organic revenues grew 7 percent for the quarter. For fiscal year 2020, the company projects comparable earnings per share to be about $2.25 compared $2.11 in 2019.
Asian stocks fell on Thursday. The Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.62 percent to 26,449.13.
The Taiwan Weighted plunged 5.75 percent to close at 11,421.74, marking the biggest decline since October 2018, as trading resumed after the Lunar New Year break.
Japanese shares fell sharply. The Nikkei average tumbled 401.65 points, or 1.72 percent, to 22,977.75, while the broader Topix index closed 1.48 percent lower at 1,674.77.
Australian markets drifted lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 23.10 points, or 0.33 percent, to 7,008.40, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 27.30 points, or 0.38 percent, at 7,108.60.
European shares are trading lower. CAC 40 of France is down 88.09 points or 1.48 percent. DAX of Germany is losing 157.99 points or 1.18 percent. FTSE 100 of England is declining 103.68 points or 1.40 percent. Swiss Market Index is sliding 89.85 points or 0.83 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 1.21 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
