MW: U.S. stock futures mixed after Intel, Wal-Mart reports
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures were mixed Thursday as Intel lowered its sales outlook and Wal-Mart Stores, one of the few beneficiaries from the limp economy, nudged lower its earnings outlook.
S&P 500 futures rose 3.9 points to 857.40 and futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20 points.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2.5 points to 1,161.00 after Intel's downbeat outlook.
U.S. stocks slumped Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 411 points, the S&P 500 losing 46 points and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 81 points. The drop came as Best Buy warned over its profit outlook, Google traded at its worst level since 2005 and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson shelved the idea of buying troubled mortgage assets.
"Markets were unsettled by Paulson's switch in focus," said currency strategists at BNP Paribas.
Thursday features weekly jobless claims and September's trade deficit, which may be over $56 billion. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development forecast a 0.9% decline in U.S. activity next year, a 0.5% drop in the euro area and a 0.1% fall in Japan.
"The ongoing adjustment in housing markets still has a long way to go," said Jorgen Elmeskove, director of policy studies.
Weekly energy inventory also will be released. The International Energy Agency again reduced its view of global energy demand, though it still expects growth this year and next.
Oil futures rose 59 cents to $56.75 a barrel.
Overseas, Germany officially fell into recession with its second straight quarter of contraction, while China industrial production growth decelerated to 8.2% in October from 11.4% in September.
Intel fell 4.4% in pre-open trade as it issued a pessimistic outlook, warning fourth-quarter revenue would be as much as 17% lower than it previously planned due to "significantly weaker than expected demand in all geographies and market segments."
Wal-Mart Stores fell 0.4% in pre-open trade. The retailing giant reported a better-than-forecast 10% profit rise in the third quarter but lowered its 2008 earnings view.
Siemens , the engineering giant, said its quarterly loss widened to $3.1 billion though it surprised some by holding onto profit guidance for the current fiscal year.
Crocs tumbled 34% as the footwear maker reported a $148 million loss and warned of further losses ahead.
The Nikkei 225 slumped 5.3% in Tokyo. The FTSE 100 slipped 1.3% in London despite a rally for BT Group.
