Stock Futures Inch Up After JPMorgan Beats the Street

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U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a tepid rebound on Wall Street after JPMorgan Chase posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

Today's Markets

As of 7:52 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 26 points, or 0.16%, to 16240, S&P 500 futures advanced 3.8 points, or 0.21%, to 1819 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.5 points, or 0.21%, to 3517.

The broad S&P 500 posted its worst selloff since November on Monday as traders wondered if stocks have gone up too much, too quickly. The verdict is still out on whether the sharp move was a one-day blip or something bigger. Peter Boockvar, chief market strategist at The Lindsey Group, struck a bearish tone in a note to clients Tuesday.

"Call yesterday’s market selloff a digestion, consolidation, a breather, overdue, well needed or whatever, but however you want to describe it, the underlying reason for it and the lackluster trading year to date goes to what I still believe will result in a down year in 2014," he said.

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) posted lower fourth-quarter profits on the day, but still beat Wall Street's expectations on the top and bottom lines. Shares of the biggest U.S. bank by assets fell slightly in pre-market trading. Results from fellow banking heavyweight Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) are due out later in the day.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department reveals December retail sales figures at 8:30 a.m. ET. Wall Street economists forecast a 0.1% gain from November, or 0.4% excluding the auto sector. Data on U.S. trade prices are also on tap for the same time.

In commodities, U.S. crude oil futures rose 19 cents, or 0.21%, to $91.99 a barrel. Wholesalee New York Harbor gasoline fell 0.23% to $2.628 a gallon. Gold slipped $2.90, or 0.23%, to $1,248 a troy ounce.