(By Balachander) U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower opening on the Wall Street as investors were cautious ahead of slew of corporate earnings reports amid concerns about the global economy.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures shed 37 points to 12,675. The Nasdaq Futures dipped 5 points to 2,572. Standard and Poor's 500 futures edged 3.70 points lower to 1,348.
On the domestic economic front, a report from the Commerce Department showed that retail sales for June unexpectedly fell 0.5 percent. Excluding autos, retail sales declined 0.4 percent. Economists expected a 0.2 percent gain in retail sales and a 0.1 percent rise in retail sales that exclude autos.
Meanwhile, the New York Federal Reserve's empire state manufacturing survey showed the main index for July jumped to 7.4 versus 2.3 in June, also coming in above expectations of a reading of 4.0.
On Friday, U.S. stocks jumped more than 1 percent - breaking a six-day losing streak - buoyed by earnings from banking giants J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) as well in-line growth data from China.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: C, V, MA, WWD, DUK, CME
In corporate news, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) added 3.08 percent in premarket after its second-quarter earnings came in better than Wall Street projections. The banking giant earned $1.00 per share, excluding items, and revenue of $18.9 billion. Net credit losses plunged 31 percent from the year-ago period.
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) rose 3.15 percent and 2.70 percent, respectively, in premarket after the companies reached agreements with merchants to settle litigation related to credit-card processing fees.
Woodward Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) tumbled 19.56 percent in premarket after the provider of energy control services reduced its earnings and sales forecast for 2012, citing ERP system-related issues and lower defense sales at its aerospace segment. The Fort Collins, Colorado-based company now expects earnings per share in the range of $1.90 to $2.00 from prior expectations of $2.20 to $2.35 for the year.
Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK) may be in focus after the company appointed Keith Trent executive vice president of Regulated Utilities, effective immediately. Trent replaces John McArthur, who resigned from the company last week. Recently, Duke closed the $13.7 billion merger with Progress Energy.
CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) may be in focus after the Chicago, Illinois-based trading company released a statement last Friday. It said the current system in which customer funds are held at the firm level must be reevaluated.
Global Markets:
European markets traded lower, with Germany's DAX down 0.18 percent to trade at 6,545.44. France's CAC40 fell 0.35 percent to trade at 3,169.62. U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.05 percent to trade at 5,663.22.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index retreated 1.74 percent to close at 2,147.96. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.15 percent to end at 19,121.34. India's BSE Sensex finished at 17,103.31, down 0.64 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 is closed for a holiday.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures dropped 0.57 percent to $86.600 per barrel. Gold futures declined 0.77 percent to $1,579.8 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro traded 0.27 percent lower against the U.S. dollar at 1.2216 and the British pound slipped 0.13 percent against the greenback to 1.5555. The dollar fell 0.39 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.8900.