(Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors looked ahead to data that could shed light on the economy's health amid worries that global demand was slowing.
Equities have been pressured recently, with the S&P 500 down 3.2 percent so far this month. Investors said Wednesday's rally, which broke a three-day losing streak, may not be enough to overcome macroeconomic worries.
In a sign of rising concerns about the economic outlook, Goldman Sachs lowered its year-end target for the S&P to 1,450 from 1,500, citing margin concerns.
The preliminary estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product is due at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) and is seen rising by 2.1 percent compared with the 1.8 percent rate previously estimated by the government.
Though the economy was seen expanding in the quarter despite sovereign debt woes, geopolitical tensions and natural disasters overseas, a weaker-than-expected reading could exacerbate concerns about global growth.
"The GDP number will give us some insight into how the second quarter is going so far. So if it disappoints, you could see (the S&P) fall by as much as 1.5 percent," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.
Cardillo noted that the number would reflect the impact from Japan's earthquake, which could be a drag on first-quarter U.S. GDP but could provide a boost for growth in future quarters. "The economy is going through a soft patch now, but I think yesterday's movement to the upside will probably carry forward," he said.
Weekly jobless claims are also on tap, with 400,000 initial claims expected, down from the 409,000 posted last week but still considered high.
S&P 500 futures rose 2 points and were even with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 19 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.
Hedge fund manager David Einhorn called for Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), to step down. Shares of the Dow component rose 0.9 percent to $24.41 in premarket trading.
Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) shares rose 2.3 percent to $71.65 in premarket trading after the luxury retailer reported its first-quarter results and raised its outlook.
Sony Corp's (6758.T) (SNE.N) forecast of its first annual net profit in four years was viewed as optimistic, as the consumer electronics giant struggles with the aftermath of the March earthquake and a series of network security breaches.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is investigating whether Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) mortgage servicing arm did not conduct proper reviews before denying borrowers the option to lower their payments under a government loan modification program.
加油！
另外 请大家在跟帖时表明两个数字
1.你是第几次参与 Follow Me
2 是连续第几次
请记住，这不是做给我，或者其他人看，这是做给你自己看的
12,12
Cardillo noted that the number would reflect the impact from Japan's earthquake, which could be a drag on first-quarter U.S. GDP but could provide a boost for growth in future quarters. "The economy is going through a soft patch now, but I think yesterday's movement to the upside will probably carry forward," he said.
16 12
As I have pointed out in my reply to the thread in May 25th, Goldman Sachs should never be careful too much for its comments. Just two days ago it advised to buy, but now it lowered its year-end target for the S&P to 1,450 from 1,500. We can't fully trust on any rating agency now, different views and quickly changing advisings confuse our own mind and lost our confidence to the future stock performance. The priority of the government now is to boost the investors' faith, as this article said,"a weaker-than-expected reading could exacerbate concerns about global growth". By the way, I really don't agree with the so called economist Peter Cardillo's inconsistent comments, most probably the markets will fell or flat in the near future.
Follow 17 17
The Democratic might more possibly won the Election of 2010 by the series of policies to reduce the deficits.
And the transfer expenditure would keep decreasing. But Obama seems going to make the Insurance and pension fund to be offer by private corporations.
Maybe everything is around the corner.
Everything is backed by excuses. You can push the price, you can draw it back. Gossip sounds more suitable to describe some cases.
16 16
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is investigating whether Goldman Sachs' (GS.N) mortgage servicing arm did not conduct proper reviews before denying borrowers the option to lower their payments under a government loan modification program.
who can help me translate this sentence? thx a lot.
学习几个生词：
losing streak
连败场数，连败纪录
on tap [ɑn 'tæp]
需要时就能得到的
aftermath ['æftɚ,mæθ]
后果,余波;事件结束后的一段时期
breach [britʃ]
破坏,违反;侵害
试译一小段：
Equities have been pressured recently, with the S&P 500 down 3.2 percent so far this month. Investors said Wednesday's rally, which broke a three-day losing streak, may not be enough to overcome macroeconomic worries.
股市近期面临较大压力，S&P500指数本月已下跌3.2%。投资者称尽管周三的反弹终结了三连阴行情， 但这不足以消弭对宏观经济的担忧情绪。
15，15
This article is about the global conerns of the economic growth. It is turned out that the first quarter is better than expected. But as the paper pointed out, the Japan earthquake, the geological tensions, the unrest in middle east and many other negative news about the expectation, the stock futures are to be flat in the future. But as we know that, somehow, the emerging market will be an impartant force in advancing the world economy.
GDP,失业率数据有待公布, 股票期货市场表现平平
路透社--周四,投资者预测出能反映经济健康的数据, 加之对全球需求减缓忧虑, 股票指数期货表现平平.
最近股票备受压力, 标普500指数已下降3.2个百分点. 周三的投资者大会虽打破了连续3天的下跌趋势,或许仍不足以克服对宏观经济的忧虑.
由于对经济前景的忧虑不断上升,高盛出于利润担心,将其对标普指数的年底预期由1500调低至1450.
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