MW: U.S. stock futures move lower ahead of economic data
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures drifted lower on Tuesday, as investors opted for caution after the previous session's gains and ahead of retail-sales data.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17 points to 10,455, while those for the S&P 500 dipped 2.3 points to 1,116.20.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 slipped 4.25 points to 1,916.75.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, lifting all indexes into positive territory for 2010, with the S&P 500 (SPX 1,122, +12.35, +1.11%) breaching its 200-day moving average for the first time in a month. Clarity on capital-reserve rules for banks and upbeat China data drove stocks worldwide.
The picture was more subdued on Tuesday, with European markets trading lower, while Asian equities ended mixed.
"After the recent rise of equity markets, many indices are close to the upper bounds of the trading range of recent months, and this acts as a resistance," said Tammo Greetfeld, an equity strategist with UniCredit Bank in Munich.
"The focus will be on the direction of incoming macroeconomic data and we think that incoming data should pose headwinds to equity markets, and we do not expect any decisive breakout on the upside from the recent trading range," he said.
U.S. retail sales for August are due for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. At 10 a.m., inventory data for July will be released.
"Any hopes that another bout of quantitative easing might be about to be unleashed on the U.S. economy may receive a further blow today with the release of the August advance retail sales figure," said economists at ING in a note to investors.
They forecast another 0.4% to 0.5% rise in retail sales after a gain of 0.4% in July. Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast growth of 0.3%.
But weak leading indicators over the last couple of months continue to weigh on investors, said UniCredit's Greetfeld. "The declining growth momentum and the uncertainty of how much economic dynamics will weaken going further is a key burden for equity markets in general," he said.
Among stocks in focus, Best Buy Co. (BBY 34.65, +0.77, +2.27%) and Kroger Co. (KR 21.04, -0.21, -0.99%) are due to report quarterly results ahead of the market open.
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT 25.11, +1.26, +5.28%) shares could be active after reports surfaced late Monday that the company may issue debt this year to pay for dividends and finance share buybacks.
European markets were unsettled by a weaker-than-expected survey of German economic sentiment. The ZEW indicator fell sharply in September to -4.3 from 14 in August, compared to expectations for a drop to 9.
The euro (EURUSD 1.2837, -0.0039, -0.3029%) slipped versus the dollar in the wake of the ZEW survey, last changing hands at $1.2831.
U.S.-listed shares of Philips Electronics (PHG 30.91, +0.67, +2.22%) (NL:PHIA 23.61, -0.48, -1.97%) fell 2.2% in thin premarket trading, as the company's five-year growth plan disappointed investors.
In the currency markets, the Japanese yen hit a fresh 15-year high against the greenback, as Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a challenge to his leadership of the ruling party, and the government. The dollar later recovered some ground to trade down 0.4% to ¥83.33.
December gold futures rose to an intraday high of $1,256.90 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex, buoyed by technical and investment-related buying.
