Thursday October 22, 09:51 AM
Wall St futures point to lower start; results due
* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: news) fell 0.1 to 0.5 percent, pointing to a weaker start on Wall Street on Thursday.
* The Labor Department releases at 1230 GMT first-time claims for jobless benefits for the week ended Oct. 17. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 515,000 new filings compared with 514,000 in the prior week.
* Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT - news) launched Windows 7 on Thursday in its most important release for more than a decade, aiming to win back customers after the disappointing Vista and strengthen its grip on the PC market.
* Investors awaited more results from companies such as
American Express (NYSE: AXP - news) , Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN - news) , AT&T, 3M Co. , McDonald's Corp., Dow Chemicals, Merck (MERK.JK - news) & Co. and Xerox Corp (NYSE: XRX - news) .
* U.S. crude oil fell 1 percent to trade near $80 a barrel, weighed down by gains in the dollar.
* At 1300 GMT, Federal Reserve's Consumer Advisory Council holds its final public meeting of 2009 to discuss proposed rules regarding closed-end mortgages and home-equity lines of credit; proposed rules to implement the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009; foreclosure issues; and committee reports.
* The Conference Board releases at 1400 GMT its report on leading economic indicators for September. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 0.8 percent rise compared with a 0.6 percent increase in August.
* The Federal Housing Finance Agency issues Home Price Index for August at 1400 GMT. In the prior month, the index rose 0.3 percent.
* Top earners at financial and auto companies bailed out by the U.S. government will see their pay slashed under an Obama administration plan aimed at addressing public outrage over eye-popping paychecks, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
* In macro-economic news, China's economic growth picked up last quarter as expected as a combination of breakneck investment and buoyant bank lending more than made up for a slump in exports.
* But the 8.9 percent growth rate fell short of some of the more optimistic predictions in the market, and the government promptly said it would stick to the ultra-loose policies it has been following for the past year.
* EBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY - news) forecast results for the fourth quarter at the low end of Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, disappointing investors who were hoping for a substantial turnaround for the holidays. EBay shares in Frankfurt fell 6.2 percent.
* Shares in Citrix Systems Inc fell 4.6 percent to $39.45 in extended trade on Wednesday after the company posted third quarter results.
* Shares in Amgen Inc fell 5.7 percent to $56 in extended trade on Wednesday after the world's largest biotechnology company said third-quarter earnings rose, beating Wall Street forecasts, while sales fell.
* European stocks fell on Thursday, with Ericsson (Stockholm: ERIC-B.ST - news) 's poor results hitting tech shares. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1.2 percent, after ending just shy of a one-year closing high in the previous session.
* U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, hurt by a late sell-off in financial shares after an influential bank analyst recommended selling Wells Fargo shares and a wider-than-expected loss from Boeing (NYSE: BA - news) disappointed investors.
* Shares of Wells Fargo slid 5.1 percent after Rochdale Research analyst Richard Bove cut his rating on the stock saying loan losses were mounting.
* The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 92.12 points, or 0.92 percent, to end at 9,949.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 9.66 points, or 0.89 percent, to 1,081.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 12.74 points, or 0.59 percent, to 2,150.73.
(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Hans Peters) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS US EUROPE
|
|
|
Send Article by Email
Send Article by IM
Blog This with Y! 360
Printable View
