By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
21st Century Fox, Disney among companies to watch
U.S. stock futures pointed to another record session for the Dow
industrials and the S&P 500 on Thursday.
Retail sales data could provide the next leg-up for equities,
with investors watching to see whether the 2017 holiday shopping
season got off to a solid start.
Also ahead are monetary policy decisions from the European
Central Bank and Bank of England, after the Federal Reserve
revealed its own interest rate call on Wednesday.
What are futures doing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 37 points,
or 0.2%, to 24,683, while those for the S&P 500 index gained
2.65 points, or 0.1%, to 2,671.75. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 Index
added 9 points, or 0.1%, to 6,426.25.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at a record for the
fourth-straight session on Wednesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dows-4-day-win-streak-in-jeopardy-with-all-eyes-on-fed-and-alabama-election-result-2017-12-13),
closing up 0.3% at 24,585.43, after the Fed raised interest rates
in a widely expected move. The S&P dipped less than 0.1% to
close at 2,662.85, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2% to
6,875.8.
The S&P 500 closed at a record 2,664.11 on Tuesday.
What's driving the markets?
U.S. stock futures found some support early Thursday ahead of a
clutch of economic updates.
Among that batch of data, retail sales will likely draw the most
interest, with economists polled by MarketWatch looking for the
headline number to rise by 0.4%, after a 0.2% gain in the prior
month. Those expectations are upbeat for the holiday season, after
retail sales got off to a solid start on Black Friday weekend
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-getting-ready-to-hike-as-retail-sales-but-not-inflation-picks-up-2017-11-29).
The November retail sales data is expected at 8:30 a.m. Eastern
Time, as is a reading on import prices for the same month.
At 9:45 a.m. Eastern, the flash Markit manufacturing and
services purchasing managers indexes for December will be released,
followed by business inventories for October at 10 a.m.
Eastern.
Details of the Republican tax deal
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-whats-in-the-republican-tax-deal-2017-12-13)
have started to trickle out, with the big elements including a
corporate tax rate of 21% and top individual rate of 27%. The
corporate rate is currently 35%.
What are strategists saying?
"A post-Fed reflection and today's macro news will likely take
the averages to new highs. We are expecting retail sales to be up
1.1%, as consumers continue to remain upbeat on the economy," said
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard
Financial.
"In fact, with tax cuts on their way consumers remain cheerful
maintaining a high level of confidence that is contributing to
stronger growth," he said in emailed comments.
"[It] seems unlikely that the head of the ECB will deviate from
his current stance of leaving interest rates unchanged until the
end of the QE program late in 2018," said Konstantinos Anthis,
research analyst at ADS Securities, in a note to clients.
Central banks in focus
Traders are likely to watch comments out of the European Central
Bank for a steer on the future unwinding of its stimulus measures.
The ECB's policy decision is expected at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time,
and ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a press conference at 8:30
a.m. Eastern.
Read: 3 things to watch for at Thursday's ECB meeting
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/3-things-to-watch-for-at-thursdays-ecb-meeting-2017-12-13)
The Bank of England will release its own interest rate decision
at 7 a.m. Eastern Time, and is expected to stand pat after raising
rates for the first time in a decade in November.
The monetary policy updates come a day after the Federal Reserve
lifted a key short-term U.S. interest rate to a range of 1.25% to
1.5%, but in a sign of caution, stuck to its earlier forecast for
just three 1/4-point rate increases in 2018.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-raises-interest-rates-and-makes-few-changes-to-outlook-ahead-of-transition-to-powell-2017-12-13)
What are other markets doing?
Climbing higher on Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-climbs-after-fed-sticks-to-3-rate-hikes-next-year-2017-12-14),
gold rose $8.60, or 0.7%, to $1,257.20 an ounce.
The dollar was mostly steady, with the ICE U.S. Dollar Index
trading flat at 93.462.
Crude-oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-on-signs-of-falling-us-inventories-2017-12-13)
were largely steady. In its closely watched monthly oil report, the
International Energy Agency said U.S. shale producers pushed global
oil supply to its highest level in a year
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-shale-ramps-up-helps-drive-oil-supply-to-highest-in-a-year-says-iea-2017-12-14).
Bitcoin futures rose to $17,520 in their fourth full day of
trading
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-futures-rev-up-again-push-past-17500-2017-12-14),
while the spot price for the most active digital currency rose to
$16,590.96.
Stocks in Europe traded lower
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-sag-with-ecbs-final-policy-meeting-of-the-year-on-deck-2017-12-14)
ahead of central bank decisions, while Asian markets finished
mostly in the red
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stock-markets-under-pressure-as-financials-drop-on-fed-hike-2017-12-14)
as financials fell on news of the Fed interest-rate hike.
Which stocks are in focus?
Shares of 21st Century Fox Inc.(FOX) rose just over 1% in
premarket trading, amid news Walt Disney Co.(DIS) could on Thursday
announce a deal to acquire a large piece of the media company
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-closes-in-on-deal-to-acquire-21st-century-foxs-movie-tv-and-sports-assets-2017-12-13).
Tintri Inc.(TNTR) could be active after shares of the
flash-storage company fell late Thursday on disappointing quarterly
revenue and its outlook
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tintri-shares-drop-as-revenue-outlook-disappoints-strategic-options-raised-2017-12-13).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2017 06:51 ET (11:51 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.