|
 The prospect of a worse-than-anticipated loss elevated concerns among investors that the financial sector may be in a more dire situation than feared. Though Wall Street knows most banks and brokerages have had problems this year with the tight credit markets
-- as evidenced by U.S. banks' plan to create a fund to buy distressed securities to avoid a fire sale environment
-- it is still unsure how deep-seated and long-lasting those troubles are.
Meanwhile, the technology sector appeared to be losing momentum from earlier in the week. Amazon.Inc. said late Tuesday its quarterly profit more than quadrupled, but it only beat per-share estimates by a penny. Investors didn't see enough reason to bring the Internet retailer's shares, already at their highest level since 1999, even higher. Amazon dipped in pre-market trading.
Dow futures fell 59, or 0.43 percent, to 13,648. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 8.30, or 0.54 percent, to 1,517.10. Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 15.25, or 0.69 percent, to 2,196.75.
On Tuesday, stocks finished with a strong gain as the market, though still uncertain about the economy and the credit markets, found solace in better-than-expected earnings from companies including Apple Inc. and American Express Co.
[to top of second column]
 |
 Crude oil futures for December delivery fell 32 cents to $84.95 a barrel in pre-opening trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar rose against most other major currencies, except the yen. Gold was little changed.
Stock markets overseas were mixed.
In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.56 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.15 percent. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.46 percent, Germany's DAX index slid 0.11 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.06 percent.
___
On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; by Madlen Read]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
