LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to slight gains for shares on Wednesday ahead of more data on the economy in a holiday-shortened week.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12 to 8,400, futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.50 to 859.10 while futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 1.25 to 1,185.75.
Data out Wednesday includes durable goods, consumer spending and jobless claims.
U.S. stocks declined on Tuesday for a second session this week, with economic reports illustrating the economy's decline and ongoing trouble in the housing market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 8,419.49, off 100.28 points, or 1.2%. The S&P 500 Index shed 8.48 points, or 1%, to stand at 863.15 while the Nasdaq Composite Index lapsed 10.81 points, or 0.7%, to 1,521.54.
Autos could be a focus for investors on Wednesday after Toyota Motor Corp. said that its domestic production dropped 27.2% in November from a year earlier to 288,138 vehicles, posting the fourth straight month of falls.
Starbucks Corp. reportedly will not guarantee a matching company contribution for employee 401(k) plans in 2009 as a cost savings measure. Starbucks told employees it will switch to a "fully discretionary match" from a "fixed employer match" starting Jan. 1, meaning the company can decide whether to match contributions into the retirement plan.
After Tuesday's closing bell, Micron reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $706 million, or 91 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $262 million, or 34 cents a share, for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.4 billion, down from $1.5 billion last year.
Adjusted net loss was 72 cents a share. Analysts had expected the company to report a loss of 45 cents a share on revenue of $1.32 billion, according to a consensus survey by Thomson Reuters.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said late Tuesday it will settle 63 wage-and-hour class action lawsuits against the company, some of which have been pending over the last several years.
The world's largest retailer said it will pay out a settlement of $352 million to $640 million, and use "various electronic systems and other measures" to ensure compliance with applicable wage laws. Wal-Mart said it will take a fourth-quarter after-tax charge of about 6 cents a share as a result.
In the energy markets, light sweet crude-oil futures fell 78 cents to $38.20 a barrel. In currency markets, the euro gained 0.4% against the dollar to trade at $1.3980.
Asian markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday, while European shares were also firmly in the red. See Asia Markets. See Europe Markets.
