Apple Crashes and Nokia Kills its Dividend: Morning Buzzers

Stock futures were mixed on Thursday morning. The Dow was heading for green pastures but the NASDAQ was crushed by a major tech earnings fiasco.

At 8:50 a.m.: Dow: +0.11%, S&P: -0.22%, NASDAQ: -1.35%.

Here’s what’s buzzing in the pre-market:

The Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims for the week ended January 19 fell 1.5 percent to 330,000, while the four-week moving average declined 2.2 percent to 360,000.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be weighing like an anchor on the NASDAQ today after losing as much as 10 percent overnight. The world’s largest tech company may as well have released its first-quarter fiscal-2013 earnings to a pack of wolves. Apple grew revenues 18 percent to $54.5 billion, while earnings of $13.81 per share came in ahead most expectations.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) is taking flak for a $654 million write off related to accounting misconduct at a mining-equipment company it purchased last year. Caterpillar found evidence of fraud only after buying the unit, and observers have raised questions about Caterpillar’s M&A screening process.