(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer) US stock futures retreated on Thursday as concerns about economic recovery continued to haunt investors.
At 8:31 am ET, the S&P 500 futures fell 9.20 points to 1099.30. The Dow Jones Industrial average futures slumped 61 points to 10343. The Nasdaq Composite futures dropped 12.50 points to 1788.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed that initial claims was unchanged at 505,00 in the week ending November 14. Economists expected jobless claims rise to 504,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, decreased 6,500 to 514,000. Continuing claims for the week ending November 7 dropped 39,000 to 5.61 million.
Early on Thursday, Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:
SHLD) reported that its third quarter net income narrowed to $127 million, or $1.09 per share, compared with a loss of $146 million, or $1.16 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 81 cents per share. Revenue declined 4 percent to $10.19 billion from $10.66 billion.
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE:
STP) reported that its third-quarter net income dropped to $29.79 million or $0.16 per ADS, from $42.64 million or $0.25 per ADS, in the year-earlier quarter. Quarterly revenues slumped to $473.11 million from $594.40 million.
GameStop Corp. (NYSE:
GME) said Thursday that its third-quarter net income climbed 12% to $52.2 million, or 31 cents a share, from $46.7 million, or 28 cents a share, in the corresponding quarter last year. Revenue rose 8% to $1.83 billion.
Limited Brands (NYSE:
LTD) said that its third-quarter profit tripled to $14.9 million, or 5 cents a share, from $4.2 million, or 1 cent a share, in the comparable quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 2 cents a share. Revenue dropped to $1.78 billion from $1.84 billion.
Late on Wednesday, NetApp (NASDAQ:
NTAP) said that its second quarter net income jumped to $96 million, or 27 cents a share, from $43 million, or 13 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $130 million, or 37 cents a share. Revenue slipped $910 million from $912 million in sales during the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, Campbell Soup (NYSE:
CPB) hiked its quarterly dividend 10% to 27.5 cents a share from 25 cents, payable Feb. 1 to holders of record Dec. 30.
US stocks finished lower on Wednesday as disappointing housing data spurred recovery fears. A sharp slide in technology shares also pressurized stocks.
On the economic front, leading indicators data is due for release at 10:00 am ET.
European stocks retreated in afternoon trade. At 13:14 pm London time, the UK FTSE lost 33.56 points or 0.63% to 5,308.57. The German DAX and French decreased 0.78% and 0.88% respectively.
Asian stocks finished with losses. The Nikkei 225 fell 127.33 points or 1.32% to 9,549.47. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong slipped 73.82 points or 0.32% to 22,840.33.
NYMEX crude oil for December delivery declined as much as 82 cents or 1% to $78.76 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
