Stocks May Experience Choppy Trading On Mixed News - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the lackluster performance seen during the previous session, stocks may continue to experience choppy trading early on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open for the markets. While the Dow futures are up by 16 points, the Nasdaq futures are down by a point.

A mixed batch of earnings news may lead to a lack of direction on Wall Street, with traders digesting quarterly results from big name companies such as Intel (INTC), American Express (AXP), General Electric (GE), and Morgan Stanley (MS).

After the close of trading on Thursday, Intel reported fourth quarter earnings that rose year-over-year but came in just below analyst estimates. The semiconductor giant also provided disappointing revenue guidance.

Credit card giant American Express also released its fourth quarter results after the close of yesterday's trading, reporting net income that more than doubled compared to the year-ago quarter.

General Electric recently reported fourth quarter earnings that matched analyst estimates, while Morgan Stanley's results came in above expectations.

Traders are also digesting a report from the Commerce Department showing that U.S. housing starts pulled back in December after seeing a substantial increase in the previous month.

The report said housing starts fell 9.8 percent to an annual rate of 999,000 in December after jumping 23.1 percent to the revised November estimate of 1.107 million. The decrease came roughly in line with economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department also said building permits fell 3.0 percent to an annual rate of 986,000 in December from the revised November rate of 1.017 million.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected to show a more modest decrease to a rate of 1.015 million.

With traders digesting a mixed batch of economic data, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Thursday. The major averages eventually ended the day mixed after posting strong gains in the two previous sessions.

The Dow ended the day firmly in the red, sliding 64.93 points or 0.4 percent to 16,417.01. Meanwhile, the broader Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed roughly flat. While the Nasdaq inched up 3.81 points or 0.1 percent to 4,218.69, the S&P 500 edged down 2.49 points or 0.1 percent to 1,845.89.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.6 percent.

The major European markets are roughly flat on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are showing moves of loss than a tenth of a percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.69 to $94.65 a barrel after slipping $0.21 to $93.96 a barrel on Thursday. Gold futures are advancing $8.10 to $1,248.30 an ounce. In the previous week, gold rose $1.90 to $1,240.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 104.32 yen compared to the 104.35 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3581 compared to yesterday's $1.3608.