U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on the Wall Street, amid continuing concerns over approving a austerity package for Greece.
Mini Dow industrial average futures retreated 88.00 points to 12,754.00. The Nasdaq Futures dropped 18.50 points to 2,542.50. Standard and Poor's 500 futures declined 11.70 points to 1,336.60.
On the economic front, the trade gap for December widened than forecast for the second consecutive month, coming in at $48.8 billion, up from a revised $47.1 billion in November, while economists expected a $47.8 billion deficit in the month.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks finished on a positive note as investors digested news of an agreement by Greece on austerity measures though they remained wary until further details emerge. Better-than-expected American jobs data and corporate news also weighed on the sentiment.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: ( LNKD, NUAN, ACI, EXPE, LF)
In corporate news, Linkedin Corp. (NYSE:LNKD) advanced 8.3 percent to $82.80 in premarket after the professional networking Website reported jump in quarterly sales and issued an upbeat revenue forecast for 2012.
Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NUAN) retreated 10.8 percent to $27.16 in premarket trading after the provider of voice and language services reported first-quarter results, trailing analysts' estimates. On a non-GAAP basis, the company's earnings per share were 34 cents on revenue of $382.0 million. Analysts' expected earnings of 36 cents on revenue of $391.5 million.
Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ACI) dropped 3.9 percent to $14.96 in premarket after the coal producer reported earnings of 29 cents a share on an adjusted basis in the fourth quarter, trailing consensus estimate of 32 cents. Revenue of $1.23 billion also missed Wall Street projections of $1.30 billion. The St. Louis, Missouri-based company issued a cautious view for 2012 citing domestic thermal market concerns and is slashing its intended output volumes "to better align with weak generation and coal demand trends."
Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) declined 4.86 percent to $32.50 in premarket after the online travel company posted fourth-quarter numbers. Adjusted earnings per share were 58 cents, in-line with consensus estimate. Revenue of $787 million trailed expectations of $811.8 million.
LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:LF) fell 6.8 percent to $6.36 in premarket. The developer of learning toys sees a first-quarter loss per share between 26 cents and 30 cents, versus analysts' expectations of a loss of 32 cents a share. It sees 2012 earnings per share between $0.40 and $0.45, while analysts' expect 41 cents.
Global Markets:
The European markets traded sharply lower amid developments concerning Greece, with Germany's DAX losing 1.57 percent to trade at 6,682.40. France's CAC40 retreated 1.23 percent to 3,382.70. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.71 percent to 5,853.47.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil declined 1.58 percent at $98.26 per barrel. Gold lost 1.61 percent to $1,713.2 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro traded 0.84 percent lower against the U.S. dollar at 1.3175, and the British pound declined 0.32 percent against the greenback. The dollar inched 0.02 percent higher against the Japanese yen to 77.6853.