- US Job Losses to Bottom out Next Quarter: NABE
- Late Payments on Credit Cards Drop in Third Quarter
- Smallest US Businesses Borrowing Again: PayNet
- Little Sign of Inflation on the Horizon: IMF
- Kraft Weighs Higher Cadbury Bid as Rivals Circle
- MBS Program Should be Extended: Fed's Bullard
- Tyson Food Profit Beats Estimates
- JPMorgan's Dimon Could Succeed Geithner: Report
- For Newspapers, Even Good News Isn't That Good
- Don't Dwell on Investment Mistakes; Move on, Like Buffett
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- U.S. Stocks Slip, Dollar Rises
- How Stock Investors Can Play Holiday Travel
- Time Lapse World Series Is A Great Play
- Hirschhorn: Greed...or Fear
- My Top 10 Tech Toys for the Holidays
- iPhone a Better Gaming Platform Than Android?
- May Day For Dendreon
MOST SHARED
- Wall Street Finds Profits by Reducing Mortgages
- CNBC VIDEO: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates 'Walk & Talk' at Columbia University
- Kraft Weighs Higher Cadbury Bid as Rivals Circle
- What if a Recovery Is All in Your Head?
- Gold Prices to See Correction in 2010: Analyst
- Oil Prices to be Range-Bound This Week: CNBC Survey
Text Size 
Futures surged as the economy provided proof that an economy is under way.
The much-anticipated government report on gross domestic product delivered on hopes that the economy was back in positive territory following a crippling recession. GDP gained in the third quarter at a 3.5 percent clip, ahead of even the healthiest expectations.
At the same time, weekly jobless claims took a small dip, while the four-week moving average considered a more accurate barometer of the employment picture pulled back even more.
Another round of positive earnings results helped boost the market outlook, as Dow component Procter & Gamble [PG
Loading...
()
] and Motorola both reported better-than-expected reports that sent their shares higher. P&G gained 1.4 percent while Motorola was up a healthy 4.9 percent in premarket trading.
On the downside, ExxonMobil [XOM
Loading...
()
] disappointed the market with earnings per share of 98 cents, 5 cents below expectation, sending shares down 2 percent premarket.
October—largely a positive month for stocks— is ending with a whimper, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq having lost their gains for the month, and the Dow holding on to a 50-point gain with two trading sessions to go.
Doubts about the U.S. economic recovery are one factor, with some analysts also saying a correction is perfectly natural after the run-up of the past few months.
Thursday's trade could turn in either direction depending on the morning's two economic reports: third-quarter GDP and the weekly report on jobless claims, both out at 8:30 am New York time.
Economists think GDP rose at a 3.2 percent annual rate during the third quarter, compared to a drop of 0.7 percent for the second quarter.
Consensus for jobless claims is for a reading of 525,000 compared to 531,000 last week.
It should be noted that Goldman Sachs [GS
Loading...
()
] cut its GDP forecast yesterday to 2.7 percent from 3.0 percent, and that it made a similar last-minute move prior to the most recent employment report. Its revised forecast in that instance turned out to be prescient.
Other events on the calendar today include a speech by National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers in New York at 12:15 pm New York time, and a $31 billion dollar auction of 7-year Treasury notes, with results available shortly after 1pm.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and other regulators will be testifying before the House Financial Services Committee this morning on proposed financial regulation changes.
At 10:30 am New York time, we'll get the usual weekly report from the Energy Department on natural gas inventories.
Also highlighting this morning's earnings calendar:
Aetna; Allergan; Autonation; Avon Products (AVP); Colgate-Palmolive; CME Group; Eastman Kodak (EK); Expedia (EXPE); Kellogg; Moody's; Motorola; Monster Worldwide (MWW); Mylan Labs (MYL); Newmont Mining (NEM); Office Depot (ODP); Procter & Gamble (PG); Sprint Nextel; Smith International (SII); Waste Management (WM); Williams Cos.(WMB); and Exxon Mobil (XOM).
Watch the health care stocks, as they tend to move on almost any event related to health care reform. At 10:30 am New York time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others will unveil the latest version of the health care reform bill.
- Written by Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk
- Technology can make or break a fortune in the world of alternative energy.
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates discuss the economy and other subjects with CNBC's Becky Quick.
- Many people are facing the holidays with substantially smaller incomes. Here’s how some are adapting.
- The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show attracts a big TV audience every year, but this year it may take on even more importance.
- Jim Cramer is a proponent of stocks that pay healthy dividends, and here are his top five dividend plays.
- CNBC’s technology reporter Jim Goldman guides you through the best gadgets to buy this holiday season.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes