The markets are all a-Twitter.
U.S. investors and traders are eagerly anticipating Twitter’s debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning. Twitter priced its initial public offering at $26 a share late Wednesday, raising $1.8 billion.
But investors aren’t as enthusiastic about the broader market. U.S. stock futures were edging down ahead of the opening bell.
Aside from Twitter, there are important economic releases to watch Thursday. The government will release its first estimate of U.S. third quarter GDP at 8:30 a.m. ET, as well as its weekly report on initial jobless claims.
The European Central Bank will announce its latest interest rate decision around 7:45 a.m. ET, with ECB head Mario Draghi speaking at a press conference 8:30. A rapid fall in eurozone inflation has raised the chance of a rate cut but most economists expect the bank to wait until December before taking action.
On the earnings side, Wendy’s is scheduled to release quarterly results before the opening bell, while Walt Disney, Groupon and Priceline.com are up in the afternoon.
U.S. stocks finished mostly higher Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting another all-time high.
But some market players are expressing concerns that stocks have become overly inflated, with investors bidding shares higher as the U.S. Federal Reserve continues pumping money into the financial system
“The list of smart and influential investors raising doubts about the health of the market increases almost as quickly as the stock market itself,” said Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.
Whole Foods shares sank more than 9% in after-hours trading Wednesday after revising its earnings and sales guidance lower for 2014.
Qualcomm shares also fell after the semiconductor maker posted quarterly earnings that fell short of expectations.
European markets were mixed in morning trading, while Asian markets ended with modest declines.
