By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Durable goods drop in February; Kraft, Kofex up on M&A
news
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures were
little-changed, trading in a narrow range on Wednesday, hinting at
another low-volume day, with the data calendar thin and the
influential dollar locked in ranges.
Major deal news from Kraft Foods Group Inc. and Kofax Ltd. drove
those shares higher.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (ESM5) were flat at
17,949, while those for the S&P 500 index (YMM5) also were
virtually unchanged at 2,087. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 (NQM5)
were up 8.5 points to 4,437.
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
interest-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
dismal level. With little data out Wednesday, volumes would
probably drop off once a report on oil inventory data is released,
they said.
In economic news, orders for durable U.S. goods
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/february-durable-goods-orders-drop-14-in-weak-report-all-around-2015-03-25)
fell in February, suggesting businesses remain reluctant to invest
in a more aggressive manner.
Charles Evans, president of the Chicago Federal Reserve,
speaking to press after a speech in London, warned that global
uncertainty is the biggest risk to the U.S. economy, advocating
interest rates stay low until 2016.
Sleeping giant: Tuesday's 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 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
35% in thin premarket activity after a merger was announced with
H.J. Heinz Company
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kraft-and-heinz-to-merge-in-deal-to-create-company-with-revenue-of-28-billion-2015-03-25).
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)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 higher.
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