US stock futures follow European markets lower

[May 08, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures are following European markets downward with few economic indicators at home and little in the way of quarterly earnings results from major corporations.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 54 points to 12,905. The Standard & Poor's 500 is off 5.5 points to 1,360.30. The Nasdaq composite index is down 13.50 points to 2,623.

Greece is leading European markets lower after an election left the country without a new government. After plunging 6.7 percent immediately after the election, markets in Athens lost more than 2 percent Tuesday. Greece's Radical Left Coalition leader Alexis Tsipras says he'll end payments to creditors and nationalize banks.

In the U.S., the burger chain Wendy's Co. reported a profit for the first quarter but its results missed Wall Street expectations and it cut its forecast.

[Associated Press]

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