US pre-open: Stocks called higher as dollar strengthens on ECB
The main US market averages were being called to start the day higher by over a half a percentage point each on Thursday after the European Central Bank surprised the markets with larger than expected plan of sovereign bond purchases.
That sent the single currency immediately lower to trade below the $1.15 mark, in turn weighing on crude futures.
Southwest Airlines was another strong performer after the regional air carrier reported better than expected quarterly profits on the back of greater passenger traffic and a hefty drop in fuel costs.
Covidien and Union Pacific also beat analysts’ forecast for earnings, while insurance group Travelers, United Continental and Johnson Controls all came in slightly beneath forecasts.
Stock in retailer Land’s End plummeted by over 20% after the group offered up a disappointing outlook.
Royal Bank of Canada agreed to purchase US rival City National Corp. for about $5.4bn, its largest takeover on record.
Initial US weekly unemployment claims decreased by 10,000 over the seven days ended on 17 January, to reach 307,000. The consensus estimate had been for a reading of 300,000.
The FHFA’s house price index for November increased by 0.8% over the month, following a rise of 0.6% in the month before (consensus: 0.3%).
Front month West Texas crude futures were slipping 0.59% to $47.52 per barrel on NYMEX.
10-year US Treasury yields edged higher by 2 basis points to reach 1.89%.