Weak GDP Outweighs Strong Earnings as Futures Fall: Morning Buzzers

The U.S. equity markets are off to a bad start on Wednesday morning. Futures are lower across the board despite strong earnings and a positive employment report because of an unexpectedly bad turn for the nation’s gross domestic product.

At 8:45 a.m.: DJIA: -0.09%, S&P 500: -0.17%, NASDAQ: -0.10%.

Here’s what’s buzzing on Wednesday morning:

The ADP National Employment Report shows that 192,000 non-farm private sector jobs were added in January, above most estimates. This is the sixth consecutive month that the ADP report has shown growth in private employment.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in its preliminary findings that fourth-quarter GDP shrank 0.1 percent, below expectations for about 1 percent growth.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) released fourth-quarter and full-year earnings before the bell that had the stock up as much as 1.5 percent in the pre-market. Revenues for the quarter climbed 14 percent year over year to $22.3 billion, and increased 19 percent for the full year to $81.7 billion. Earnings per share for the quarter fell 30 percent year over year to $1.28, and decreased 4 percent for the year to $5.11. These results came in ahead of most estimates. As expected, costs related to the on-going 787 Dreamliner investigation haven’t materialized yet.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to open today’s trading session at least 8 percent higher as a result of its fourth-quarter earnings report. Sales for the period increased 22 percent to $21.27 billion, while net income decreased 45 percent to $0.21 per diluted share. The good news comes in the form of operating income, which climbed 56 percent to $405 million in the fourth quarter… (Read more.)