Third-quarter GDP data on tap, home sales data also due
U.S. stock futures were pointing to a mildly positive start on Wall Street on Tuesday, as investors continue to count down to the end of the year.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16 to 8,555, futures for the S&P 500 index advanced 4.10 to 875.40 while futures for the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.25 to 1,198.25.
Third-quarter GDP data is due out Tuesday, as well as consumer sentiment data, new home sales and existing home sales data.
On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 8,519.69, off 59.42 points, or 0.7%, the S&P 500 Index closed the session down 16.25 points, or 1.8%, to 871.63, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.97 points, or 2%, to 1,532.35.
Companies likely to be in focus on Tuesday included Unisys Corp. , which said late the previous day that it plans to take "aggressive actions" to reduce costs, which will include laying off about 1,300 workers.
The IT services company said it will also seek reductions in third-party expenses, facility consolidations and a suspension of company matching contributions to the U.S. 401(k) plan. The company also said it will forgo 2009 salary increases in most of its markets. Unisys said it will take a restructuring charge of $80 million to $85 million in the fourth quarter as a result of the cost reductions.
General Dynamics Corp. said late Monday its Electric Boat unit and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, a unit of Northrop Grumman Corp. , received a $14 billion contract from the U.S. Navy to build eight Virginia-class submarines.
Discussions between Walt Disney Co.and Hong Kong officials are underway over the possible expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland, which may include adding attractions that would be unique to the Hong Kong venue, The Wall Street Journal reported. See full story.
Crude-oil futures were little changed, up 2 cents at $39.93 a barrel in electronic trading. On Monday, crude for February delivery, the new front-month contract, ended down $2.45, or 5.8%, at $39.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The dollar weakened against the euro, with the common currency up 0.3% at $1.3985.
Asian markets dropped sharply Tuesday in thin trading as investors rushed to take profits ahead of the holidays. European markets advanced.
