The Nasdaq finished Thursday's session at an all-time high. The tech-heavy index closed at 5,056.06, eclipsing its March 2000 peak. Back then, it
Euro-area finance ministers are becoming increasingly frustrated with Greece. The troubled country's self-imposed deadline to secure bailout funding is Friday, and there is still no deal. According to a source cited by Bloomberg, "Euro-area finance chiefs said Varoufakis's handling of the talks was irresponsible and accused him of being a time-waster, a gambler and an amateur." Greece's 3-year yield is lower by 3 basis points at 24.34%.
German business confidence hit an 10-month high. According to the Ifo Institute for Economic Research, German Ifo Business Climate hit 108.6, its best since June. Germany's 10-year yield is down 0.6 basis points at 0.157%.
Google's quarter disappointed. The search giant announced earnings of $6.57 per share, missing the $6.63 that was expected. Revenues jumped 11.9% to $17.26 billion, but fell short of the $17.5 billion that Wall Street analysts were forecasting. The closely followed cost per click metric fell 7% year-over-year, and the number of paid clicks jumped 13% YoY (15% YoY expected).
Starbucks revenues outpaced estimates. The coffee giant announced revenues surged 17.8% over last year to $4.56 billion, topping the $4.53 billion that was expected. Earnings were in-line at $0.33 per share, when adjusted for non-recurring items. The company said same store sales were up 5% in the Americas region.
Amazon's cloud business is booming. The on-line retailer announced a loss of $0.12 per share, slightly outpacing the $0.13 loss that was anticipated. Revenues grew 15.1% YoY to $22.72 billion, topping the $22.39 billion that was expected. The company's Amazon Web Services announced a $265 million profit, putting it on track to profit more than $1 billion this year.
Microsoft beat on the top and bottom lines. The company earned $0.62 per share, easily topping the $0.51 that was expected. Revenues climb 6.5% versus a year ago to $21.73 billion, beating the $21.06 billion that analysts were looking for. The strong dollar was a significant headwind during the quarter.
HSBC has begun a review of the location of its headquarters. The bank is considering a move from its London headquarters because of the bank levy tax, which cost the firm $1 billion in 2014. Hong Kong is said to be under consideration if a move were to take place.
Global stock markets are mixed. Australia's ASX (+1.5%) paced action overnight while Japan's Nikkei (-0.8%) and China's Shanghai Composite (-0.8%) lagged. In Europe, Spain's IBEX (+0.8%) and Italy's MIB (+0.8%) lead the advance. S&P futures are up 1 point at 2108.
US economic data is light. Durable orders will cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is little changed near 1.96%.