MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Edge Up With Wal-Mart Results On Deck

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks futures edged up Thursday, before the release of a weekly update on the labor market and quarterly figures from retailing heavyweight Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) rose 7 points to 16,626, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4)(SPU4) picked up 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 1,946.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NDU4) rose 4.5 points, or 0.1%, to 3,950.50.

The retail sector will be in focus, with Dow industrials component Wal-Mart (WMT) due to release second-quarter results before the market opens. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings of $1.21 a share, down from $1.24 a share a year ago.

"Given our observation of an increased number of clearance zones at numerous stores, and rising amounts of excess seasonal goods on markdown as the second quarter moved along, Wal-Mart is at risk of missing second-quarter consensus earnings per share forecasts," wrote Brian Sozzi, chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, in a report earlier this week.

He noted the consensus estimate for earnings are "oddly" near the upper-end of Wal-Mart's own projection of $1.15 to $1.25 a share.

Retail stocks on Wednesday took a beating after disappointing results from Macy's (M) and other companies, and as July retail sales showed the weakest growth in six months. The SPDR S&P Retail exchange traded fund (XRT) fell 0.7% on Wednesday.

Stocks on Wednesday closed higher, with the S&P 500 (SPX) ending up 0.7% and the Dow industrials (DJI) picking up 0.6%.

Department-stores operator Kohl's (KSS) is also due to report ahead of the bell, with analysts looking for per-share earnings of $1.07 on revenue of $4.29 billion.

After the bell, embattled retailer J.C. Penney (JCP) is projected to report a narrower second-quarter loss of 91 cents a share.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, a report from the Labor Department may show initial jobless claims rose 11,000 to 300,000 in the week ended Aug. 9. But claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits would still be close to pre-recession levels, boding well for the labor market, which has been strengthening.

Also at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, the Labor Department will report on import prices for July. Economists expect a 0.3% drop, compared with growth of 0.1% in June.

Corporate front

Nordstrom (JWN) will release results after the close Thursday, and analysts expect the upscale department store chain to post earnings of 94 cents for its second quarter.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) shares shed 1% premarket, extending losses from late Wednesday, when the network-equipment maker said it plans to cut up to 6,000 jobs.

Amgen (AMGN) late Wednesday announced disappointing results from a late-stage trial of its blood-cancer treatment, as well as a recall of prefilled syringes of its anemia drug Aranesp.

In other action, September oil futures (CLU4) gave up 15 cents a barrel, while December gold futures (GCZ4) rose more than $2 an ounce. European stocks lost ground following disappointing gross-domestic-product data from the euro zone, including a contraction for the German economy. Asian stocks finished mixed, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng losing 0.4%.

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