By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Durable goods coming up; Kraft, Kofex up on M&A news
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures stuck to a tight
range on Wednesday, hinting at another low-volume day, with the
data calendar thin and the influential dollar locked in ranges.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (ESM5) rose 1 point
to 17,949, while those for the S&P 500 index (YMM5) inched up
0.35 point to 2,085.25. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NQM5) were up 2
points to 4,431.
The week so far has produced losses of just over 0.5% for the
major indexes. Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-futures-wary-ahead-of-cpi-as-a-mix-of-global-data-rolls-in-2015-03-24)
marked a second-straight decline for stocks, after consumer prices
and other data suggested to some that a Federal Reserve rate hike
could come sooner rather than later. The Dow industrials (DJI)
dropped 104.90 points, and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 12.92
points.
NYSE Composite volume was the fourth lowest this year. Analysts
at Credit Suisse said Tuesday's volumes were 2% below Monday's own
dismal level. With little data out Wednesday, volumes would
probably drop off after oil inventory data later, they said.
Durable-goods orders for February are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern
Time. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will give a speech in
London speech on monetary policy and the economy at 6:30 a.m.
Eastern.
Sleeping giant: CPI data did help the dollar to stabilize, which
in turn weighed on stocks. Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG,
said many are waiting to see how long before the dollar can "remain
at bay before resuming its run."
"It's almost as if the U.S. dollar is a sleeping giant at the
moment, and we probably won't be seeing much volatility in equities
either until it awakes," said Shamu in a note.
The dollar (DXY) shifted slightly lower Wednesday after data
showed German business confidence rose in March
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ifo-german-business-confidence-rises-again-2015-03-25)
for the fifth straight month, hitting its highest level since July
2014.
Stocks to Watch: Shares of Kraft Foods Group Inc.(KRFT) surged
16% in thin premarket activity after The Wall Street Journal
reported
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/brazils-3g-in-serious-talks-for-kraft-2015-03-25)
Brazil's 3G Capital Partners LP is in advanced talks to buy the
food group in a deal that could be valued at more than $40
billion.
Shares of Kofax Ltd.(KFX) were up 46% in premarket after the
software company agreed to be acquired by Lexmark International
(LXK) late Tuesday.
Earnings from Red Hat Inc.(RHT)(RHT), Apollo Education(APOL) PVH
Corp.(PVH) and Paychex Inc.(PAYX) are expected on Wednesday.
Other markets: European stocks edged lower. In Asia, the
Shanghai Composite Index snapped a 10-day winning streak, and the
Japan Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.2%.
Oil prices (CLK5) were barely higher ahead of crude-stockpile
data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration due later.
Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group,
said its data for last week showed a 4.8-million-barrel gain in
crude-oil supplies. Gold prices (GCK5) were moderately lower.
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