(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)
US stock futures pointed to a weaker open on Wednesday after a weaker-than-expected housing data rekindled recovery fears.
At 8:36 am ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 0.10 points to 1107.50. The Dow Jones Industrial average futures slipped 14 points to 10384. The Nasdaq Composite futures fell 5.50 points to 1803.25.
The Department of Commerce said Wednesday that housing starts slumped 10.6% in October to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000. Building Permits dropped 4% to annual rate of 552,000. Economists had projected housing starts to increase to an annual rate of 600,000 and building permits to rise to 580,000 in October.
A release by Department of Labor on Wednesday showed U.S. producer prices increased 0.3% in October while core producer prices declined 0.2% in the month. Economists expected producer price index to rise 0.2 and core producer price index to gain 0.2% in October.
Early on Wednesday, BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE:
BJ) announced that its third quarter net income declined to $17.7 million, or 32 cents per share, from $28.2 million, or 48 cents per share, in the prior-year quarter. The wholesale club operator said that its revenue climbed 2 percent to $2.51 billion from $2.46 billion.
Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ:
ADSK) reported third-quarter profit tumbled to $29.5 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with $104.5 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 27 cents a share. Revenue slumped to $416.9 million from $607.1 million.
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE:
CRM) reported that its third-quarter net income nearly doubled to $20.7 million, or 16 cents a share, from $10.1 million, or 8 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue jumped 20% to $331 million.
Meanwhile, Sysco Corp. (NYSE:
SYY) boosted its quarterly dividend by 4% to 25 cents a share from 24 cents, payable Jan. 22 to holders of record Dec. 31.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday that the volume of mortgage applications filed last week fell a seasonally adjusted 2.5% compared with the week before.
US stocks finished at fresh 13-month highs on Tuesday as broker upgrades and gains in commodity sector offset downbeat holiday spending outlooks from retailers.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 13:14 pm London time, the UK FTSE lost 23.48 points or 0.44% to 5,369.41. The German DAX and French increased 1.01% and 0.81% respectively.
Asian stocks finished lower. The Nikkei 225 fell 53.13 points or 0.55% to 9,676.80. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong dropped 73.82 points or 0.32% to 22,840.33.
NYMEX crude oil for December delivery declined as much as $1.09 or 1.4% to $80.23 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
