U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday, as investors awaited new-home sales and durable goods data amid fears the figures will show more evidence of a slowdown in the economic recovery.
Less than two hours before the start of trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were eight points lower at 10015. The Standard & Poor's 500 futures slipped one point to 1048.8, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 2.75 points to 1771. Changes in futures don't always accurately predict early market moves after the opening bell.
On Tuesday, the Dow fell 1.3% to end at 10040.45 points—its lowest close since July 7. The index has dropped for four consecutive trading days. The steep decline came after data showed that sales of existing U.S. homes tumbled more than 27% in July.
Wall Street is bracing for more economic data on Wednesday. July durable-goods orders will be released at 8:30 a.m., while July new-home sales data are due at 10 a.m.
Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index, said that "investors are not willing to take on too much risk with important economic data coming in thick and fast."
Traders will watch closely the new-home sales data, which have "taken on added significance after yesterday's very poor existing-home sales and the profit warning issued by Irish firm CRH PLC," he said in a note to clients.
In Europe, equity markets swung between gains and losses, as investors weighed an unexpected rebound in German business sentiment against the downgrade of Ireland's credit rating by Standard & Poor's. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.3% in intraday trading.
Asian shares posted broad-based losses, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ending down 1.7% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 2%.
The euro bounced on a stronger-than-expected Ifo survey from Germany and the yen slipped back Wednesday on speculation that the Bank of Japan will call an emergency meeting.
The euro was up at $1.2690 from $1.2674 late Tuesday in New York. It also rose to 107.34 yen from 106.64 yen. The dollar rose to 84.56 yen from 84.17 yen.
Oil futures were little changed at $71.63 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex ahead of government data on U.S. petroleum inventories.
