By ELAINE KURTENBACH
Markets on Wall Street Thursday were poised to give back a slice of the gains made a day earlier on the shoulders of computer chip giant Nvidia.
Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.2% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%. Nasdaq futures were off close to 0.3%.
Walmart shares sank more than 3% in premarket after the retail giant hinted at a volatile economic environment ahead, despite delivering another quarter of standout results. In its first reporting period since new CEO John Furner took the helm from Doug McMillon, Walmart nudged past sales and profit expectations as the promise of lower prices drew in a broader spectrum of Americans during the critical holiday shopping period.
EBay shares jumped nearly 8% overnight after the online auction site breezed past sales and profit targets and announced that it was paying Etsy $1.2 billion to acquire the secondhand fashion marketplace Depop in a bid to capture a bigger share of the Gen Z market. Etsy shares rose more than 18%.
In energy trading, oil prices rose around 1.5% on media reports that the likelihood of a U.S. conflict with Iran was rising.
President Donald Trump has been weighing whether to take military action against Iran as his administration surges military resources to the region while holding indirect talks with Tehran over its nuclear program. That is raising concerns that any attack could spiral into a larger conflict in the Middle East.
U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.02 to $66.07 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $1 to $71.35.
Elsewhere, in European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.9% by midday, while the CAC 40 in Paris slid 0.8%. Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.6%.
Markets in Greater China were closed for Lunar New Year holidays, while some others in the region reopened for trading.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.6% to 57,467.83, while in South Korea, the Kospi jumped 3.1% to 5,677.25 as markets reopened following holidays earlier in the week. Samsung Electronics, the market’s biggest heavyweight, gained 4.9%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 9,086.20.
Southeast Asian markets surged, with Thailand’s SET up 1.7%. India’s Sensex shed early gains to fall 1.1%.
In currency trading early Thursday, the dollar bought 154.79 Japanese yen, down from 154.83 yen. The euro fell to $1.1771 from $1.1782.
The price for an ounce of gold held steady just above $5,000 while silver ticked down less than 1% to $78 an ounce.
Bitcoin was effectively flat at $66,559.
