Investors sorting through Wal-Mart earnings and forecast, and Intel's sales warning.
By CNNMoney.com staff
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set for a lower open Thursday as Wal-Mart beat expectations on earnings but lowered full-year estimates, and Intel warned of a drop in sales.
At 8:15 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 futures were down.
Recession fears have gripped investors this week, resulting in massive selling on Wall Street. Over the past three days, the blue-chip Dow has fallen more than 660 points, or 7%.
European markets were mixed, following a report from Germany's Federal Statistics Office that the country had fallen into recession. Asian stocks were down.
Wal-Mart: The world's largest retailer reported third-quarter earnings and sales which were slightly ahead of expectations, but cut its guidance for the full fiscal year ending in January because of currency fluctuations.
Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) reported earnings of 77 cents per share, up from 70 cents during the same period last year, and an increase of 7.5% in third-quarter sales to $97.6 billion.
Analysts had expected $98.3 billion in sales for the third quarter, and earnings of 76 cents per share, according to a consensus of estimates form Thomson Reuters.
This is a big week for retail, with the Commerce Department due to release its retail sales figures for October on Friday. Economists are expecting a decline of 2.1% from the prior month, according to a consensus of projections by Briefing.com.
Intel warning: Tech shares could be pressured after chip giant Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) warned of a sharp sales drop.
The company said after the market close Wednesday it expects to pull in $9 billion in the fourth quarter, versus its earlier forecast of between $10.1 billion and $10.9 billion.
Intel shares plunged 7% in after-hours trading.
Housing market: Nearly 85,000 homes were lost to foreclosure in October, according to RealtyTrac, an online market place for foreclosures. Also last month, more than 279,000 struggling homeowners received foreclosure filings, up 5% from September and up 25% from October 2007.
A total of 936,439 homes have been lost to foreclosure since the housing crisis hit in August 2007, according to RealtyTrac.
Citigroup: The board of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) is considering replacing its chairman Sir Win Bischoff, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move comes amid the company's disappointing financial results and falling stock price.
A Citigroup spokeswoman told the newspaper that any report that the board is searching for a new chairman was false.
Oil and currencies: Oil prices, which settled at a 21-month low Wednesday, rebounded slightly.
U.S. crude for December delivery was up 60 cents to $56.76 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar rose against the yen and the British pound but slipped versus the euro.
