(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures declined on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of Fed meeting.
At 8:21 am ET, the
S&P 500 fell 2.30 points to 1005.20. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 11 points to 9309. The
Nasdaq Composite slipped 3.50 points to 1609.
According to
Department of Labor, U.S. productivity climbed 6.4% in second quarter. Economists expected a reading of 5.5%. Unit labor costs plunged at a 5.8% rate, the largest decline in nine years and a slightly larger drop that the 5.3% decline expected by economists. Hourly earnings increased 0.2% in the second quarter.
Investors will be focusing on Treasury's record $37 billion auction of three-year notes. The auction will begin Tuesday, with a $37 billion offer in 3-year notes. Meanwhile, the Fed will begin its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday.
CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:
) said Tuesday that it has delayed filing its second-quarter report with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the Aug. 10 deadline without incurring "unreasonable effort and expense." The commercial lender said senior management and other key personnel in recent weeks have been focusing on the restructuring plan announced in late July, which has prevented the company from completing its Form 10-Q on time.
Late on Monday, engineering and construction giant
Fluor Corp. (NYSE:
) reported that its second-quarter profit declined to $169 million, or 93 cents a share, from $208 million, or $1.12 cents a share, in the year ago quarter. Revenue dropped 8% to $5.3 billion.
Independent film studio
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp (NYSE:
) first-quarter net profit rose to $36.3 million, or 30 cents a share, from $3.5 million, or 3 cents a share, in the prior year period. On an adjusted basis, the company posted a profit of 21 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30. Revenue surged 30 percent to $387.7 million in the quarter.
On the economic front,
wholesale inventories data is due for release at 10:00 am ET.
European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. At 12:44 pm London time, the UK FTSE fell 13.80 points or 0.29% to 4,708.40. The German DAX decreased 0.25% while French CAC increased 0.11% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 61.20 points or 0.58% to 10,585.46. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong advanced 144.69 points or 0.69% to 21,074.21.
NYMEX crude oil for September delivery climbed as much as 10 cents to $70.70 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
