(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures declined on Wednesday as investors remained anxious ahead of key housing data.
At 8:21 am ET, Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures fell 2.40 points to 906.30. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures subtracted 15 points to 8446. Nasdaq Composite Index futures shed 4.75 points to 1406.
A survey of 45 professional forecasters released by the National Association of Business Economists on Wednesday found almost three-quarters expected the economic recession to end by the third quarter of this year.
General Motors (
NYSE: GM) inched closer to bankruptcy as only a small fraction of bond holders took part in the company's $27 billion bond swap on Tuesday. GM offered a 10 percent equity stake of the reorganized GM in return for unsecured debt.
Early on Wednesday,
AutoZone Inc. (
NYSE: AZO) said that third-quarter earnings climbed to $174 million, or $3.13 a share, compared to $159 million, or $2.49 a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue increased to $1.66 billion from $1.52 billion.
LED lighting maker
Cree Inc. (
NASDAQ: CREE) raised its fourth-quarter revenue guidance on stronger-than-expected orders for both lighting and laptop LED products. For the fiscal fourth quarter that will end June 28, Cree now expects earnings to range from 7 cents to 9 cents per share on revenue of $143 million to $150 million. Excluding some one-time items, adjusted earnings are expected to range from 15 cents to 17 cents per share.
Late on Tuesday,
Take-Two (
NASDAQ: TTWO) reported that it swung to fiscal second quarter net loss of $10.1 million, or 13 cents a share, compared to earnings of $98.2 million, or $1.29 a share, in the prior year quarter. Excluding charges and one-time items, the company lost $2.9 million, or 4 cents a share, in the recent quarter. Revenue declined 57% to $229.7 million.
Borders Group (
NYSE: BGP) said that its first-quarter loss widened to $86 million, or $1.44 a share, from a loss of $31.7 million, or 50 cents a share, in the year ago quarter. Revenue decreased to $650.2 million from $735.8 million a year earlier.
On the economic front, existing home sales is scheduled for release at 10:00 am ET.
US stocks finished with gains on Tuesday after investors cheered better than expected consumer confidence data.
European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. At 13:20 pm London time, the UK FTSE fell 9.82 points or 0.22% to 4,401.90. The German DAX retreated 0.20% while French CAC advanced 0.23% .
Asian stocks soared. The Nikkei 225 jumped 127.96 points or 1.37% to 9,438.77. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong surged 893.71 points or 5.26% to 17,885.27.
NYMEX Crude oil for June delivery climbed as much as $1 or 1.6% to $63.45 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
