Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Stock futures slightly higher

U.S. stock futures were trading slightly higher Thursday as investors continued to focus on signals from the Federal Reserve on when it will begin tapering its monetary stimulus.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average index futures added 0.2% and Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.2%. Nasdaq index futures rose 0.2%.

On Wednesday, the Dow lost 0.4% to 15,900.82. The S&P 500 shed 0.4% to 1,781.37. The Nasdaq lost 0.3% to 3,921.27.

WEDNESDAY STOCKS: Fed news whacks Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.9% to 15,365.60, boosted by a weaker yen. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.5% to 23,580.29.

Benchmarks across Europe were mixed. Britain's FTSE 100 index was flat at 6,681 and Germany's DAX index fell 0.3% to 9,171.

Minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting showed that the central bank would likely start tapering off its bond purchases in "coming months" if the job market improved further. Fed members also weighed the possibility of slowing the purchases even without clear evidence of a strengthening job market.

The Fed's $85 billion monthly bond purchases have kept interest rates low to spur spending and growth but also sent a wave of investment into stocks in search of higher returns.

"Together with extensive discussions on alternative policy response to keep rates low … it indeed looks increasingly likely that the focus is now on keeping rates low after tapering, rather than delaying tapering," Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a market commentary.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was down 8 cents $93.25 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 1 cent to close at $93.33 on Wednesday.

Contributing: Associated Press

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