Stocks head for lower open ahead of economic data

[September 11, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks headed for a lower open Thursday as investors remained uneasy about the well-being of the financial sector and awaited readings on international trade and weekly unemployment claims.

A pullback in overseas markets likely also weighed on sentiment.

Wall Street's latest unease about the financial sector follows Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s announcement Wednesday that it plans to sell its investment management unit and spin off its commercial real estate assets. The company is seeking to raise cash after making bad bets on holdings tied to real estate.

Investors expect the Commerce Department to report a widening of the international trade gap and that the Labor Department will show a decline in last week's jobless claims. Both reports are due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 122, or 1.08 percent, to 11,169. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 11.40, or 0.92 percent, to 1,221.90. Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 19.75, or 1.14 percent, to 1,717.75.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.62 percent from 3.63 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell 75 cents to $101.83 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.98 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.13 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.30 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 1.12 percent.

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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]

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