30-Dec-2011 - US Stock Futures Edge Up

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By WILLIAM L. WATTS U.S. stock-index futures traded slightly higher Thursday, with Italy's borrowing costs decreasing as it sold another round of government bonds in a test of market confidence, and as investors awaited the latest round of weekly U.S. jobless-claims data. About three hours before the start of trading, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 32 points at 12113. S&P 500 Index futures were up 3.25 points at 1247.75, while Nasdaq 100 futures added four points to 2263.50. Changes in futures don't always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell. News reports said Italy sold around €7.02 billion (9 billion) of government bonds, with yields declining nfl headset from a month ago for three- and 10-year bonds. The sale follows Wednesday's well-received auction of six-month Treasury bills that also saw borrowing costs decline. In addition to the 2014 and 2022 bonds, Italy also sold an off-the-run 2021 bond and an indexed 2018 bond. Italy had planned to sell as much as €8.5 billion of bonds in the auction. The Labor Department will release its latest jobless-claims data at 8:30 a.m., ET. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecast first-time claims in the week ended Dec. 24 totaled 374,000, up from 364,000 the previous week. The purchasing-managers index for the Chicago region is set for release at 9:45 a.m., while November pending home sales figures are set for release at 10 a.m., followed by the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank survey results for December at 11 a.m. European equities pared gains after the Italian auction but remained higher on the day. Asian shares ended mostly lower, as lingering worries about Europe's debt crisis kept investors on the sidelines, analysts said. Wall Street on Wednesday fell sharply in moves exacerbated by thin trading cheap nba jerseys conditions, analysts said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 139.94 points, or 1.1%, to close at 12151.41. The Dow remains up 5% on the year. The S&P 500 Index lost 15.79 points, or 1.3%, to close at 1249.64, pushing it back into negative territory for the year to date. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 35.22 points, or 1.3%, to end at 2589.98, leaving it down 2.4% for the year. Nymex crude-oil futures rose seven cents in electronic trade to 99.43 a barrel. The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against a basket of major rivals, roe 0.2% to 80.699.

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