Stock futures point to lower opening

[October 22, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures are pointing toward a modest decline at Thursday's opening that would extend a late sell-off a day earlier.

Overseas markets were tumbling following the U.S. market's late-session dip Wednesday, and as uncertainty mounted about Chinese stimulus measures aimed at pumping up that country's economy.

Investors will turn their attention to a plethora of earnings Thursday for direction about how the consumer and economy are faring. Lingering concerns over whether the market's rally has over estimated an economic rebound fed into Wednesday's decline.

Quarterly earnings reports from a wide variety of sectors should provide traders with insight into the strength of the consumer. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy.

Results from companies like airlines JetBlue Airways and US Airways Group as well as fast-food chain McDonald's Corp. and candy maker Hershey Co. are all due out before the market opens.

Credit card lenders American Express Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. should provide clues into whether consumers are still struggling to repay loans, which has been a major problem for nearly the entire financial sector for the past two years. Both report after the market closes.

A weekly report on jobless claims could also provide some direction for the market. The Labor Department is expected to report workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time increased last week after two straight weeks of sharp declines.

The report, due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT, is expected to show new jobless claims rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 515,000, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures declined 8, or 0.1 percent, to 9,893. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 1.80, or 0.2 percent, to 1,076.30, while Nasdaq 100 index futures declined 6.00, or 0.3 percent, to 1,747.25.

Stocks tumbled sharply late in the day Wednesday, sending the Dow down 92 points and back below the 10,000 threshold after the index was up 78 points and had reached its highest level in a year earlier in the session. The Dow hit 10,000 last week for the first time in a year.

The sell-off began after a cautious note from bank analyst Richard Bove about Wells Fargo & Co. Analysts say the note, along with ongoing concerns about the speed and size of the market's seven-month recovery, left the market ready for a retreat.

The Dow has dropped three of the last four days.

Meanwhile, bond prices dipped Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.41 percent from 3.39 percent late Wednesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.07 percent from 0.06 percent.

The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices also fell.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 declined 1.4 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 1.7 percent, and France's CAC-40 tumbled 1.7 percent.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN BERNARD]

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