(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)
US stock futures edged up on Wednesday on hopes that Obama's mortgage plan would stabilize a sinking housing market.
At 8:31 am ET, Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March advanced 4.10 points to 789.70. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 46 points to 7553. Nasdaq Composite Index futures rose 7 points to 1189.50.
A Department of Commerce release on Wednesday showed housing starts fell a record 16.8% in January to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 466,000. Economists had projected Housing Starts to decline to an annual rate of 529,000.
Building Permits dropped 4.8% to annual rate of 521,000. Economists had forecast building permits to decline to 525,000 in January.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan are expected to unveil their mortgage relief plan at 12:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Late on Tuesday, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler LLC, submitted requests for $22 billion in additional loans to the U.S. Treasury in order to avoid bankruptcy. The struggling automakers also said that they have reached an agreement with United Auto Workers union to cut labor costs.
Early on Wednesday, Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) announced that its fourth-quarter fell 32% to $412 million, or 14 cents a share from $602 million, or 20 cents a share in the same period, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $790 million, or 27 cents a share. Revenue rose 9% $8.77 billion.
Deere Co. (NYSE: DE) said its fiscal first-quarter earnings slipped to $203.9 million, or 48 cents a share, from $369.1 million, or 83 cents a share in the prior year quarter. Revenue dropped 1% to $5.1 billion from $5.2 billion.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) swung to a fourth quarter loss of $330 million, $1.37 a share compared to profit of $52 million, or 23 cents a share in the comparable period, a year ago. Revenue slumped 21% to $4.1 billion from $5.2 billion. The biggest U.S. tire maker also announced that it plans to cut 5,000 jobs or nearly 7% of its total workforce.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) are scheduled to announce their quarterly results after the market close.
On the front of economic data, industrial production and capacity utilization figures for the month of January are due for release at 09:15 am ET.FOMC minutes would be released later in the day.
European stocks retreated in afternoon trade. At 12:56 pm London time, the U.K. FTSE decreased 83.92 points or 2.02% to 4,051.15. The German DAX and French CAC shed 2.31% and 2.11% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 fell 111.07 points or 1.45% to 7,534.44. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong rose 70.60 points or 0.55% to 13,016.
NYMEX crude oil for March delivery declined 71 cents, or 2%, to $36.80 a barrel before the opening bell.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
