Stocks set to slip as Greek talks drag

By msnbc.com news services

U.S. stocks are set to slip Thursday as Greek leaders had not yet reached a deal on fiscal reforms and ahead of policy decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank and data on the U.S. labor market.

Greece needs to reach an agreement on reforms and austerity measures to get a new bailout package and avoid a chaotic default. Pension reform remained a stumbling block.

Euro zone officials said the full deal must be reached by Feb. 15 in order to complete the necessary legal paperwork.

The ECB and Bank of England are expected to leave interest rates unchanged later today when policy is announced, as the BoE looks set to inject another round of stimulus.

European shares rose as investors bet on a positive outcome in Greece, and on hopes ECB policy would remain supportive for the region.

U.S. investors will eye weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET for any follow-up strength in the labor market after Friday's much better-than-expected payrolls report.

The Commerce Department releases wholesale inventories for December at 10 a.m. ET.

PepsiCo Inc early Thursday reported higher quarterly profit and said it will cut 3 percent of its workforce.

Cisco Systems Inc posted second-quarter results that beat estimates after the close Wednesday and hiked its quarterly dividend.

Groupon Inc slumped 14.8 percent to $20.95 premarket. The daily deal website's first quarterly results since it went public stoked concern about limited disclosure and slowing growth.

U.S.-listed shares of Credit Suisse AG lost 3.1 percent to $26.79 in light premarket trade after the bank posted an unexpected fourth-quarter net loss as its investment bank struggled and it took almost 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.1 billion) in charges.

Other companies expected to post results Thursday include Expedia Inc Pitney Bowes Inc and Philip Morris International Inc.

Through Wednesday morning, of the 315 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, 61.0 percent have been above analyst expectations, tracking below the pace of recent quarters.

Reuters contributed to this report.