Ub News

U.S. stock futures fell modestly Thursday as the market remains stuck in a tight range. A lack of economic reports have kept a lid on big movements this week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 22 points recently, while Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index futures were down 3 points and Nasdaq Composite futures slipped 7 points.

Bloomberg reported, Bank of America Merrill Lynch hired Kaku Nakhate, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Indian unit, to replace Kevan Watts as head of operations in the South Asian nation. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC, $17.11, +$0.31, 1.85%) rose 0.35 percent to $17.17 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, even on Wednesday, shares of Bank of America climbed 1.85 percent, closed on $17.11 and BofA jumped 16.63 percent in the past one month trading.

Citigroup (C) shares again ticking higher in premarket action on Thursday ahead of a presentation by CEO Vikram Pandit at an investor conference in New York. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C, $3.96, +$0.14, 3.66%) jumped 0.76 percent to $3.99 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, even on Wednesday, Citigroup shares were up 3.66 percent, closed on $3.96.

Retailer Men’s Wearhouse moved to a loss in its fiscal fourth quarter as clothing sales and tuxedo rentals fell from the year before, the company said on Wednesday. For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, it posted a net loss of $18.9 million, or 36 cents a share, compared with a profit of $1.5 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier. The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW, $24.83, +$0.08, 0.32%) fell 6.97 percent to $23.10 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, shares of Men’s Wearhouse rose 0.32 percent, closed on $24.83.

British bank HSBC says information on 15,000 customers with accounts in Switzerland has been stolen. The data was stolen by a former information technology employee about three years ago, the Geneva-based unit of HSBC said today in a statement. French authorities, which seized the data, have told their Swiss counterparts that they won’t use the information “inappropriately,” the bank said. HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HBC, $52.75, +$0.05, 0.09%) dropped 0.61 percent to $52.43 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, HSBC shares jumped 0.09 percent, closed on $52.75.

Hot Topic Inc.’s (HOTT) fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 44% because of continued sales weakness and falling margins. Hot Topic Inc. posted fourth quarter net income of $8.0 million or $0.18 per share, compared to $14.2 million or $0.32 per share in the comparable period last year. Hot Topic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOTT, $6.55, +$0.02, 0.31%)) fell 6.26 percent to $6.14 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, shares of Hot Topic rose 0.31 percent, closed on $6.55.

BP said Thursday that it would pay Devon Energy $7 billion for assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico, and that the two firms would form a joint venture to develop an oil sands project in Alberta, Canada. BP plc (NYSE:BP, $56.19, +$0.15, 0.27%) dropped 0.23 percent to $56.06 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, BP plc jumped 0.27 percent, closed on $56.19 and Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN, $71.85, +$1.0, 1.41%) rose 2.59 percent to $73.71 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, even on Wednesday, shares of Devon Energy climbed 1.41 percent, closed on $71.85.

Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) delivered industry-leading results in 2009 during a volatile and challenging industry environment and is well positioned for future growth across a range of market conditions, the company said today in its annual presentation to investment analysts at the New York Stock Exchange. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM, $67.22, +$0.44, 0.66%) dropped 0.34 percent to $66.99 on Thursday morning pre-market trading session, while on Wednesday, Exxon jumped 0.66 percent, closed on $67.22.