(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures pointed to a weaker open on Friday after a government release showed that consumer prices were unchanged in July.
At 8:31 am ET, the S&P 500 fell 0.10 points to 1013.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 5 points to 9383. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.25 points to 1628.50.
A release by
Department of Labor on Wednesday showed consumer prices were unchanged in July. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1% in the month. Economists had expected no change in the monthly consumer price index
Early on Friday, teen-clothing retailer
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:
) announced that it swung to a second-quarter loss $26.7 million, or 30 cents a share,compared to a profit of $77.8 million, or 87 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. Quarterly sales fell 23% to $648.5 million, while sales at stores open at least a year plunged 30%, the company reported.
J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE:
) said onn Friday that it swung to a fiscal second-quarter loss of $1 million, or break even a share, compared with a profit of $117 million, or 52 cents a share, in the prior year period. Revenue declined 7.9% to $3.94 billion with comparable-store sales declining 9.5%.
Late on Thursday,
Autodesk Inc. (NYSE:
) reported a second-quarter profit of $10.5 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a profit of $89.8 million, or 39 cents a share, in the comparable period last year. Revenue slipped to $414.9 million from $619.5 million.
Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE:
) said late Thursday that its second-quarter loss narrowed to $39.7 million, or 21 cents a share, from $44.7 million, or 23 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the video chain would have reported a loss of 19 cents a share for the latest quarter. Revenue dropped to $1.02 billion from $1.3 billion last year.
On the economic front, capacity utlization, industrial production and University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment data are scheduled for release later in the day.
US stocks finished higher on Thursday after retail giant Wal-Mart reported better than expected quarterly results.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 13:12 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 16.56 points or 0.35% to 4,772.02. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.36% and 0.54% respectively.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 80.14 points or 0.76% to 10,597.33. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong climbed 32.03 points or 0.15% to 20,893.33.
NYMEX crude oil for September delivery climbed as much as 6 cents to $70.58 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn’t own any of the stocks mentioned here.
