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Futures were mixed after the Dow and the S&P 500 had their best January since the 1990s. Moving on, stocks have performed well in February. The Dow hasn't fallen in February since 2009, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq have only one negative February in that stretch. (CNBC)
* Cramer's rigorous guide for investing during market volatility (CNBC)
Investors hope the old Wall Street adage, "so goes January, so goes the year," holds true in 2018. When the S&P 500 finishes January in the green, the next 11 months move higher 12.2 percent on average, according to LPL Financial Research. (TheStreet)
Facebook's (FB) stock was 2 percent higher premarket after whipsawing after hours Wednesday. The company crushed quarterly earnings expectations. However, it also said users have cut the time they spend on the social media giant's platform. (CNBC)
Lowe's (LOW) announced employee bonuses of up to $1,000 due to the beneficial effects of tax reform. An internal memo reviewed by CNBC said the bonuses would be based on length of service with the home improvement retailer.
It's another busy morning for earnings, with Alibaba (BABA), Cigna (CI), UPS (UPS) and more. Some big names are out after the bell, including Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Apple (AAPL). Also out: Amgen (AMGN), Mattel (MAT), and Visa (V). (CNBC)
Initial jobless claims and fourth quarter productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. At 10 a.m., the government will issue December construction spending figures. At the same time, the Institute For Supply Management issues its January Manufacturing Index. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Billionaire Elon Musk's The Boring Company sold all 20,000 of its flamethrowers in just five days after he announced the firm would sell the devices on Sunday. That means Musk's infrastructure firm has now sold $10 million worth of flamethrowers. (CNBC)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Microsoft (MSFT) reported adjusted quarterly profit of 96 cents per share, 10 cents above estimates, while revenue also beat forecasts. Microsoft's results were helped by a $5.3 billion boost in cloud computing revenue.
Qualcomm (QCOM) came in seven cents above estimates with quarterly profit of 98 cents per share, while revenue also beat forecasts. The chip maker did say its results were hurt by its ongoing patent dispute with Apple, and it gave weaker than expected earnings and revenue guidance for the current quarter.
AT&T (T) beat estimates by 13 cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 78 cents per share, with revenue also above forecasts. AT&T's results were helped by tax cuts and a boost in wireless subscribers. AT&T also expressed confidence that it will complete its acquisition of Time Warner (TWX).
PayPal (PYPL) shares are coming under pressure after eBay (EBAY) announced that PayPal would no longer be its primary payments processing partner. Separately, PayPal reported adjusted quarterly profit of 55 cents per share, three cents above estimates, with revenue above forecasts as well. The payment services provider said payment volume was up by nearly one-third from a year ago, and volume at its Venmo mobile payment unit was up 86 percent from a year earlier.
Mondelez International (MDLZ) beat estimates by a penny with adjusted quarterly profit of 57 cents per share, while the snack maker's revenue was in line with forecasts. Mondelez noted strong growth in emerging markets and strong demand for Cadbury and Oreo products in Europe.
CONTRIBUTORS
Matthew J.Belvedere
Peter Schacknow
Tom DiChristopher
