MW: U.S. stock futures turn lower as Best Buy warns
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures veered between gains and losses Wednesday morning, with Best Buy becoming the latest firm to issue a profit warning at a time of growing fears over the health of financials and automakers.
S&P 500 futures fell 5.4 points to 887.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 12 points to 1,211.00.
Dow industrial futures fell 59 points.
U.S. stocks dropped for a second straight day on Tuesday as outlooks from luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. and coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. illustrated softening consumer spending. The Dow industrials fell 176 points, the S&P 500 lost 20 points and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 35 points.
Wednesday's calendar is short on data, though Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is due to give an update on the financial rescue package at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
His comments are coming as Democrat leaders say they will push legislation to use the $700 billion bailout fund to rescue automakers General Motors , Ford Motor Co.and Chrysler.
GM shares climbed 11% in pre-open trade.
Meanwhile, American Express reportedly wants $3.5 billion from the U.S. government, The Wall Street Journal reported.
More trouble in the financial sphere was seen from Prudential Financial , which cut its dividend by 50%. Another insurer, Swiss Life, cut its earnings forecast and halted its stock buyback program.
Oil futures continued to slide after closing below the $60-a-barrel mark for the first time since March 2007. Oil fell 73 cents to $58.60 a barrel.
The dollar was steady at 97.58 yen.
Macy's rose 5% in pre-market moves as the retailer held onto fourth-quarter earnings guidance. But Best Buy dropped 15% after a profit warning.
After the close, Applied Materials and Computer Sciences are due to report results.
The Nikkei 225 slipped 1.3% in Tokyo. In London, the FTSE 100 traded 0.7% higher.
