(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)
US stock futures edged lower on Friday on as investors remained concerned about possible nationalization of some banks.
At 8:31 am ET, Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in March slumped 11 points to 768.40. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 136 points to 7326. Nasdaq Composite Index futures fell 12 points to 1158.50.
Shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) plunged over 11% in European trade on reports that Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank of America Corp. was subpoenaed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Citigroup (NYSE: C) retreated 13% in Frankfurt.
A release by Department of Labor on Friday showed consumer price index dropped 0.3% in January. The core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, climbed 0.2% in the month. Economists had forecast a rise of 0.3% in consumer price index and an increase of 0.1% in core consumer price index.
Saab Automobile, the loss making Swedish car unit of struggling US carmaker General Motors (NYSE: GM) filed for bankruptcy on Friday.
Early on Friday, Lowe's Cos. (NYSE: LOW) reported that its fourth quarter net income slipped 60% to $162 million, or 11 cents a share, from $408 million, or 28 cents in the comparable quarter, a year ago.
Revenue fell 3.8% to $9.98 billion.
J.C. Penney Co Inc (NYSE: JCP) tumbled 51% to $211 million, or 95 cents a share, from $430 million, or $1.93 a share in the comparable quarter, a year ago. Sales declined 10% to $5.76 billion.
Late on Thursday, Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU) said that its fiscal second-quarter net income declined to $85 million, or 26 cents a share, from $115.2 million, or 34 cents a share in the prior year quarter. Revenue decreased 5% to $791 million.
Meanwhile, the New York Times Co. (NYT.N) said that it would suspend quarterly dividend on its Class A and Class B common shares to preserve cash as ad revenue drops.
European stocks slumped in afternoon trade. At 13:56 pm London time, the U.K. FTSE declined 108.47 points or 2.70% to 3909.90. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 3.62% and 3.31% respectively.
Asian stocks finished with significant losses. The Nikkei 225 fell 141.27 points or 1.87% to 7,416.38. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong lost 324.19 points or 2.49% to 12,699.17.
NYMEX crude oil for March delivery declined as much as $1.68, or 4.2% to $37.80 a barrel before the opening bell.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
