Stocks poised for mixed open
Lower-than-expected jobless claims and JPMorgan's strong results counter concerns about a possible CIT bankruptcy.
Why Louisville, CO is No. 1NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were set for a mixed open Thursday after strong earnings from JPMorgan Chase and lower-than-expected jobless claims countered concerns about small business lender CIT Group.
At 8:45 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were slightly higher and S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were slightly lower.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance.
"I think JPMorgan should really push [stocks] into the positive," said Len Blum, managing director at Westwood Capital LLC. "JPMorgan Chase is doing really well. They've got really strong capital and they paid back TARP. Their losses in credit cards were more than offset by gains in trading."
Blum said that this, combined with strong earnings from Goldman Sachs (GOLD) earlier this week, should offset some of the sting from CIT. However, there could still be bad news ahead from some of the bank earnings.
"You've got the winners and the losers, and the distinction between the two will become more obvious with time," he said. "The impression is that the rest of the banking sector isn't as good as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. There's a little bit of trepidation about the banking sector."
On Wednesday, stocks surged on the back of better-than-expected earnings and optimistic guidance for the second half of the year from tech giant Intel (INTC, Fortune 500). All three major indexes jumped 3%, with the Dow adding 256 points.
Also helping Wall Street rally Wednesday: the Federal Reserve said that even though unemployment will likely top 10% this year, the end of the recession is in sight, according to the minutes from its latest meeting. The Fed said the nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, should decline by between 1% and 1.5% in 2009, compared to an earlier forecast of a drop of between 1.3% to 2%.
JPMorgan Chase: The finance giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) reported earnings of 27 cents per share, including the money paid back to TARP, leaving expectations in the dust.
Analysts had expected to report a profit of 4 cents per share, according to a consensus of opinion from Briefing.com. That compared to 54 cents a year ago.
JPMorgan Chase stock rose 1% in pre-market trading.
Economy: The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims dropped to 522,000 in the week ended July 11, down from the prior week's revised figure of 569,000.
This was less than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected that 552,000 people collected jobless benefits for the first time in the most recent week.
After the open, the Philadelphia Fed index, a regional reading on manufacturing, is expected to have weakened to negative 5 in July from negative 2.2 in June.
Foreclosure filings in the first half of the year reached a record 1.53 million, according to a report early Thursday from online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac.
CIT: CIT Group (CIT, Fortune 500), the cash-starved small business lender, said late Wednesday that it has been told it won't be getting much-needed bailout funds from the government anytime soon.
While CIT is nothing near the size of some of the financial institutions that failed last year, it's not known what impact a possible bankruptcy would have on the economy.
Trading in CIT was halted on the NYSE Wednesday.
Earnings on tap: After the close, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) is expected to report a profit of $5.08 per share versus $4.63 a year ago.
IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) a Dow component, also reporting after the closing bell, is expected to say it earned $2.02 per share versus $1.98 a year ago.
Major earnings reports will continue into Friday, with Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), and General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) reporting results before the opening bell. Investors are paying close attention to the guidance from companies for the coming quarters.
Global markets: Asian stocks rallied after China reported better-than-expected second-quarter economic growth. Tokyo's Nikkei index ended up 0.8%. European markets rallied in midday trading.
Oil and money: The price of oil dropped 61 cents to $60.93 a barrel. The dollar retreated versus major international currencies, including the euro, the pound and the yen. 
-
Check out our interactive timeline to see Steve Jobs' early struggles and recent victories. More -
How Apple's imperious, brilliant CEO revived the company and transformed American business. More -
From forgettable phones to disastrous desktops, Apple is able to recover fast. Play -
Arson. Scrappers. Blackouts. It's all part of business for the last tenant in Detroit's Packard Plant. More -
Investors think Detroit's foreclosed houses are a deal. Would you buy this one for $6,900? More -
These rising stars, like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, have great jobs to fill. Here's what they're looking for. More
