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 Stocks declined overseas amid uncertainty over the plan after an initial burst of enthusiasm in the U.S. on Wednesday gave way to concerns about the effort to inject liquidity into the credit markets.
U.S. stocks ended higher but well off their highs Wednesday as investors took a closer look at the Fed's agreement with the European Central Bank and the central banks of England, Canada and Switzerland to combat what it labeled elevated pressures in the credit markets.
Uncertainty continued Thursday ahead of several economic readings due before the opening bell, including the Labor Department's producer price index, a reading of inflation levels.
In addition, the Commerce Department is slated to release its November retail sales report. The reading could be an important snapshot of retailers' health heading into what is for many the most important period of the year.
The uncertainty over the economy sent stock futures lower on Thursday.
Ahead of the opening of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 114, or 0.84 percent, to 13,386.
Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 13.90, or 0.93 percent, to 1,476.30, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 22.50, or 1.07 percent, to 2,085.20.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its yields, rose to 4.10 percent from 4.06 percent late Wednesday. The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
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 Light, sweet crude rose 19 cents to $94.58 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.23 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 1.29 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 2.18 percent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 2.48 percent, while Hong Kong's Heng Sang index lost 2.72 percent on the day.
In corporate news, Costco Wholesale Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter profit climbed 11 percent amid membership fee growth. The warehouse retailer's results met Wall Street's expectations.
Investors also awaited fiscal-fourth quarter results from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. expected Thursday morning.
Dow Chemical Co. said it agreed to sell a 50 percent stake in five of its global businesses to a Kuwaiti company for about $9.5 billion to form a joint petrochemicals venture.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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