NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks appeared poised for a mixed start Wednesday, as the latest job report provided new cause for concern on our winter of discontent.
At 7:40 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were mixed, suggesting a lackluster open for Wall Street.
Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and give an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.
Wall Street mounted a rally Tuesday, but some of that optimism may fade as investors take in the latest reports on unemployment.
Job market: Planned job cuts totaled 241,749 in January, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a six-year high for monthly layoffs. Many of the cuts came from record downsizing in the retail sector, the report said.
This report will be followed by payroll services firm ADP's survey on private-sector payrolls at 8:15 a.m. ET.
The global recession has forced companies around the world to reduce staff. Panasonic (PC) became the latest firm to announce cuts, saying it plans to slash 15,000 jobs by 2010.
Corporate results: The New York-based media corporation Time Warner Inc (TWX, Fortune 500)., which owns CNNMoney.com, missed expectations for fourth-quarter results and forecast a flat profit for the full year.
Time Warner reported a net loss of $16 billion, or $4.47 a share, for the fourth quarter.
Without charges, Time Warner reported a profit of 23 cents per share, falling short of the analyst consensus forecast of 26 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500), based in Northfield, Ill., posted earnings that fell just short of expectations. The company said that diluted earnings, excluding charges, fell 2% in the fourth quarter to 43 cents per share, compared to the year-earlier quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast 44 cents per share.
After U.S. markets closed Tuesday, Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) posted quarterly sales and earnings that missed expectations.
Executive pay: President Obama is due to unveil new rules that will impose salary caps on executives of firms that receive the most aid from government bailout funds. The new rules will limit executive pay to $500,000.
Companies: Other stocks to watch include discount retailer Costco (COST, Fortune 500), which warned early Wednesday that its earnings for the current quarter would fall well below expectations.
International markets: Asian indexes, including the Nikkei and the Hang Seng, closed higher. European indexes were also higher in midday trading.
Oil and money: Oil prices rose 83 cents a barrel to $41.61 in electronic trading. The dollar fell versus the yen, but rose against the euro and the British pound.
First Published: February 4, 2009: 5:31 AM ET
At 7:40 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were mixed, suggesting a lackluster open for Wall Street.
Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and give an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.
Wall Street mounted a rally Tuesday, but some of that optimism may fade as investors take in the latest reports on unemployment.
Job market: Planned job cuts totaled 241,749 in January, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a six-year high for monthly layoffs. Many of the cuts came from record downsizing in the retail sector, the report said.
This report will be followed by payroll services firm ADP's survey on private-sector payrolls at 8:15 a.m. ET.
The global recession has forced companies around the world to reduce staff. Panasonic (PC) became the latest firm to announce cuts, saying it plans to slash 15,000 jobs by 2010.
Corporate results: The New York-based media corporation Time Warner Inc (TWX, Fortune 500)., which owns CNNMoney.com, missed expectations for fourth-quarter results and forecast a flat profit for the full year.
Time Warner reported a net loss of $16 billion, or $4.47 a share, for the fourth quarter.
Without charges, Time Warner reported a profit of 23 cents per share, falling short of the analyst consensus forecast of 26 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Kraft Foods (KFT, Fortune 500), based in Northfield, Ill., posted earnings that fell just short of expectations. The company said that diluted earnings, excluding charges, fell 2% in the fourth quarter to 43 cents per share, compared to the year-earlier quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast 44 cents per share.
After U.S. markets closed Tuesday, Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) posted quarterly sales and earnings that missed expectations.
Executive pay: President Obama is due to unveil new rules that will impose salary caps on executives of firms that receive the most aid from government bailout funds. The new rules will limit executive pay to $500,000.
Companies: Other stocks to watch include discount retailer Costco (COST, Fortune 500), which warned early Wednesday that its earnings for the current quarter would fall well below expectations.
International markets: Asian indexes, including the Nikkei and the Hang Seng, closed higher. European indexes were also higher in midday trading.
Oil and money: Oil prices rose 83 cents a barrel to $41.61 in electronic trading. The dollar fell versus the yen, but rose against the euro and the British pound.
First Published: February 4, 2009: 5:31 AM ET
nce the economy gets rollin this is going to take off.Manage their money really well.
