U.S. Stock Futures Down Slightly on Greek Questions

By Saumya Vaishampayan 

U.S. stock futures fell slightly Thursday as investors eyed developments in negotiations over Greece's bailout.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 17 points, or 0.1%, to 17976. S&P 500 futures fell two points, or 0.1%, to 2093, while Nasdaq-100 futures added five points, or 0.1%, to 4391. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict moves in the stock market after the opening bell.

Stock futures drifted between slight gains and losses during the session. Greece formally submitted a request to extend its bailout on Thursday. German officials, however, said Greece's proposal wasn't substantial and didn't meet the bailout program requirements.

Greece's bailout expires at the end of February, which would leave the government without financing. Greece and its creditors have been in negotiations for weeks over the broad terms of a new financing deal for the country. Many investors expect a deal to be reached and Greece to remain in the eurozone.

European stocks inched higher, with France's CAC 40 up 0.6% and Germany's DAX adding less than 0.1%.

Stocks fell slightly Wednesday, with the Dow industrials falling 0.1% to 18029.85. The S&P 500 lost less than one point to 2099.68.

Stock-market swings have subsided after a turbulent start to the year. The Dow swung by 1% or more during 10 sessions in January. So far in February, it has only done so three times. And in the absence of big swings, stocks have approached record levels. Through Wednesday's close, the Dow is just 0.1% below its record of 18053.71 and the S&P 500 is less than 0.1% away from Tuesday's closing high of 2100.34.

But while the S&P has hit records in recent sessions, the CBOE Volatility Index, which tends to move in the opposite direction as the S&P, hasn't even fallen to its lowest level in a year, said Ashwin Bulchandani, chief risk officer at MatlinPatterson. The VIX is based on prices of S&P 500 options that tend to become more expensive as investors rush to protect themselves against a selloff.

"Very simply, people are nervous," he said. "Maybe one reason why the stock market seems relatively behaved in the short term is that people are very uncertain about what the future direction is going to be," he added.

Stock futures remained slightly lower after the Labor Department said jobless claims fell by 21,000 to 283,000 in the week ended Feb. 14. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected 290,000 claims.

Japanese stocks hit a 15-year high on Thursday. The Nikkei Stock Average advanced 0.4% to 18264.79, the highest level since May 2000.

In commodity markets, gold futures added 1.3% to $1215.40 an ounce. Crude-oil futures slid 4% to $50.69 a barrel.

Treasury prices fell, pushing the 10-year yield up to 2.091% from 2.067% on Wednesday.

In earnings news, T-Mobile US Inc., the country's fourth-largest wireless carrier, swung to a profit in its holiday quarter as revenue surged. Results beat expectations, helping shares rise 3.2% in premarket trading.

Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at [e-mail]

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