Stock Futures Lower Ahead of Job Data. Stocks to Watch: AA, BAC, BBBY, COST, QCOM, and VALE

Published on Thursday, 07 January 2010 09:15 Written by Christopher Lynn

New York, Jan 7^th (TradersHuddle.com) – Stocks futures pointed to a lower open, despite an improved outlook in the labor market, as China move to curb lending pushed commodities lower.

The Labor Department reported 434,000 new jobless claims last week, a gain of 1,000 but less than expected. The four-month moving average hit a 16-month low. The improving labor market is sparking investors’ jitters that the Fed will start to raise interest rates sooner.

The dollar hit a four-month high against the yen. And crude oil fell snapping a 10 day winning streak.

Futures remained lower even after news that nation’s leading retailers had surprisingly positive holiday sales numbers.

Investors have clearly taken a conservative stance the past two days as they await Friday’s release of the December jobs report.

Today Stocks to watch: Alcoa (NYSE:AA), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Bed, Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY), Costco (NASDAQ:COST), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), and Vale (NYSE:VALE).

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) fell more than 2% in pre-market, after raising more than 5% yesterday. The largest U.S. aluminum producer was cut to “hold” from “buy” at Citigroup Inc., which said the stock is “fairly valued”, as the company earned 3 cents a share in the fourth quarter, half the average analyst estimate. Alcoa will kick off the earnings season next Monday.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) pushed higher in pre-market. The Charlotte, NC based and largest U.S. lender was raised to “outperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse Group AG, which said its repayment of funds from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program relieves a “significant overhang.” Credit Suisse also said that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) was the cheapest of the large-cap banks it covers and shares have significant upside potential.

Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) beat estimates and it gave a bullish full year outlook. The largest U.S. home-furnishings retailer forecast fourth-quarter profit of at least 67 cents a share, topping the average estimate of 63 cents, as the company benefited from less competition in its segment.

Costco (NASDAQ:COST) could see some upside as the wholesale retailer reported a 9% increase in same-store sales for the month of December, beating analyst’s estimates of 7.9%.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) pushed higher in pre-market on reports that Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ), the world’s biggest personal- computer maker, is testing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip for use in a scaled-down personal computer.

Vale (NYSE:VALE), the Brazilian producer of iron ore and nickel could see a boost after T.V. host Jim Cramer featured the stock in its Mad Money program. Cramer said that Vale could be a good diversification play away from U.S. equities as Brazil will benefit from the global recovery. Iron ore will remain strong and as an added bonus Brazil’s currency should continue to strengthen against the Dollar making shares of Vale (NYSE:VALE) more valuable in U.S. dollar terms.