Stock futures trade lower ahead of GDP report - Fox Business

Former Citigroup chief economist Bill Lee joins 'Lou Dobbs Tonight' with analysis.

U.S. equity futures are trading mixed ahead of the Thursday Wall Street session.

Nasdaq futures suggest a decline of 0.6%, while the Dow has turned higher.

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Investors will get their first look at fourth quarter growth. The GDP report is expected to say the U.S. economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.0%, compared to a record pace of 33.4% in the third quarter.

At the same time, the Labor Department will report on new claims for jobless benefits for last week. Watch for a decrease of 25,000 to 875,000. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, are anticipated to hold steady to 5.054 million.

Finally, the Census Bureau is expected to say that sales of new single-family homes rose 1.9% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 865,000.

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On the earnings front, a heavy flow of corporate results are expected from Comcast, Northrop Grumman, McDonald’s, Altria Group, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Mastercard with all reporting ahead of the opening bell.

In Europe, London's FTSE fell 0.9%, Germany's DAX dropped 0.6% and France's CAC declined 0.1%.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 1.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.6% and China's Shanghai Composite shed 1.9%.

The small majority held by Democrats in the Senate has raised doubts over how soon the economy will get an infusion of fresh support after President Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion COVID-relief package. The plan might also be scaled back.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would keep its low interest rate policies in place, but it also released a sobering assessment of the gradual recovery ahead.

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On Wall Street, a sell-off in technology companies sent shares tumbling in a reversal from the market's recent moves to record highs.

The S&P 500 fell 2.6% to 3,750.77. The Dow lost 2%, to 30,303.17. The Nasdaq slid 2.6%, to 13,270.60. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies gave up 1.9%, to 2,108.70.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	30303.17	-633.87	-2.05%
SP500	S&P 500	3750.77	-98.85	-2.57%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	13270.597569	-355.47	-2.61%

Facebook, Netflix and Google's parent company Alphabet led the pullback, which started early in the day as investors sized up the latest batch of company earnings reports. The market's skid accelerated toward the end of the day.

Traders were also focused on the eye-popping surge in GameStop, a money-losing video game seller that has become the focus of a battle between small investors bidding it higher and big hedge funds betting it will fall. Shares of GameStop hit $500 per share in Thursday morning's premarket.

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The volatile trading caught the attention of officials in the highest levels of government. The White House said the Biden administration, including the Treasury Department, are monitoring the situation.

Boeing dropped 4% after the aircraft manufacturer posted its largest annual loss in the company's history, mostly due to the grounding of Boeing's 737-MAX fleet.

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Apple’s revenue rose 21% to $111.4 billion in the first quarter, which reflected the first full sales figures for the iPhone 12 since its release on Oct. 23. The revenue total surpassed projections on Wall Street, where analysts estimated sales of $103.28 billion, and marked the first $100 billion quarter in Apple's history.

Facebook Inc. posted record revenue and profit in the fourth quarter as online holiday shopping and increased use of the company’s platforms during the pandemic drove a surge in its ad business.

Tesla posted its first profitable year after sixth straight quarter of gains

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In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 10 cents to $52.77 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It picked up 24 cents to $52.85 per barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1 cent to $55.80 a barrel.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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