Stock market today, February 6, 2015: U.S. stock futures for Friday, Feb. 6, showed a 7-point increase from yesterday's close. The Dow Jones added 212 points Thursday on rising oil prices and news that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) will purchase Hospira Inc. (NYSE: HSP) for $17 billion, or $90 per share.
This morning, investors will look past gloomy European economic data and focus on earnings reports and the U.S. jobs report.
The good news: at 8:30 a.m., the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the U.S. created approximately 257,000 jobs, handily topping consensus expectations of 234,000. The bad news: the unemployment rate in January unexpectedly climbed from 5.6% to 5.7%.
Here's what else you should know about the stock market today - including your "Money Morning Tip of the Day" - to make it a profitable Friday:
- Twitter Time: After Thursday's closing bell, shares of Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) fell nearly 7% following the release of its quarterly earnings, but quickly reversed, shooting back up 11.5%. The social media giant announced adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $0.12 per share on revenue of $479.1 million. Analysts were expecting per-share earnings of $0.06. This was the fifth Twitter earnings report since its November 2013 IPO, and the improvement could offer CEO Dick Costolo some breathing room from his Wall Street critics. TWTR stock is up 11.66% pre-market this morning, but we advise caution to readers - the market's not getting this one right, and we'll show you why...
- Eyes on GoPro: Fourth-quarter GoPro earnings were released yesterday...and the camera giant smashed estimates. But that didn't stop GoPro stock from plunging. Right now, GoPro Inc. (Nasdaq: GPRO) shares are down nearly 14% pre-market. You see, the company slashed its first-quarter profit outlook during its earnings call. Get our breakdown of GoPro earnings - and how to play GPRO stock now - here...
Bankruptcy Blues: The RadioShack bankruptcy (OTCMKTS: RSHC) is official, and the NYSE has delisted its shares from the index. The company filed Chapter 11 on Thursday, but there's a chance the brand will survive after reorganization. Under a last-minute deal, its emergency lender, hedge fund Standard General, will purchase up to 2,400 of the retailer's remaining stores. According to the deal, Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) will build a "store within a RadioShack store" retail presence in up to 1,750 of the acquired locations. The mobile company will take up one-third of the retailer's store locations and sell Sprint plans and mobile devices on all of its brands, including Boost and Virgin Mobile. Shares of Sprint were up more than 5% yesterday after the company reported strong customer growth.- Daily Dealings: Shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) were up more than 1% in pre-market hours on news that Frontier Communications Corp. (Nasdaq: FTR) will purchase its wireline operations in three U.S. states for $10.54 billion in cash.
- Stocks to Watch: Shares of LinkedIn Corp. (Nasdaq: LNKD) surged to an all-time high in pre-market hours on news that the company crushed fourth-quarter earnings estimates. This was the fourth consecutive quarter of very strong earnings reports and a growing customer base. The business and social media giant reported adjusted per-share earnings of $0.61, beating estimates of $0.53 by a strong margin.
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Oil Prices Today: Crude oil prices were up again this morning, with bulls hoping that crude can hold on for a second-straight weekly gain. This morning, March 2015 WTI crude futures were up a little more than 2.1%, hovering near $51.57 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent crude, priced in London, jumped more than 2.2% to hit $57.84 per barrel.
- Earnings Reports today include Madison Square Garden Co. (NYSE: MSG), Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. (NYSE: MMC), Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO), Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE: D), and Buckeye Partners LP (NYSE: BPL).
Full U.S. Economic Calendar February 6, 2015 (NYSE: all times EST)
- Employment Situation at 8:30 a.m.
- Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart speaks at 12:45 p.m.
- Consumer Credit at 3 p.m.
About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.