(By Balaseshan) U.S. stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on
the Wall Street amid budget hopes as well as disappointed corporate
results from Hewlett-Packard and Best Buy. Moody's downgrade of France's
credit rating also weighed on the sentiment.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures shed 5 points to 12,733. The
Nasdaq futures inched up 1 point to 2,586.50. Standard and Poor's 500
futures dipped 0.60 points to 1,381.90.
On the domestic data
front, housing starts in the United States rose 3.6 percent to 894,000
for October from September, while permits for future building
construction decreased 2.7 percent to 866,000, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Economists' expected housing starts at 840,000 and building permits of
865,000.
President Barack Obama has pushed for higher taxes on wealthy
Americans to address the fiscal cliff of roughly $600 billion in
spending cuts and tax increases that could hit economic growth. Obama
held talks with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders today.
In a statement on Friday, the White House said the President and the
leadership had a constructive meeting and agreed to do everything
possible to find a solution that averts the so-called "fiscal cliff,"
and to work together to find a balanced approach to reduce deficit that
includes both revenues and cuts in spending and encourages long-term
economic and job growth.
The investors may be keenly looking at the Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke's public address in the Economic Club of New York at 12:15
pm.
Eurozone ministers were meeting to discuss the latest bailout
funds release for Greece, as Moody's downgraded France's credit rating
from its coveted AAA to Aa1 rating due to worries about economic
weakness.
On Monday, U.S. stocks rallied and closed sharply higher as
"constructive" budget talks to resolve the fiscal crisis buoyed
sentiment.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: HPQ, GMCR, BBY, GRPN, HNZ
In corporate news, Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) shares tumbled
9.77 percent in premarket after the world's largest seller of personal
computers issued a downbeat earnings forecast backed by a
weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) gained 7.54
percent in premarket after the specialty coffee maker appointed
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) executive Brian Kelley as its Chief Executive
Officer, effective December 3.
Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY) shares dipped 5.45 percent in premarket
after the company reported a quarterly loss due to a restructuring
charges primarily related to store closures, and adjusted earnings
missed Street's expectations.
Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) gained 9.82 percent in premarket after
media reports that hedge fund Tiger Global Management acquired a 9.9
percent stake in Groupon.
H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) shares shed 1.58 percent in premarket after the ketchup and soups maker's second quarter results.
Global Markets:
European markets traded mixed,
with Germany's DAX up 0.01 percent to trade at 7,124.76. France's CAC40
shed 0.36 percent to trade at 3,427.04. U.K.'s FTSE 100 dipped 0.20
percent to trade at 5,726.24.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index
shed 0.40 percent to finish at 2,008.92. Japan's Nikkei 225 inched down
0.12 percent to end at 9,142.64. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.16
percent to end at 21,228.28. India's BSE Sensex ended at 18,329.32,
down 0.05 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Ahead of the
opening bell, crude oil futures dipped 0.50 percent to $88.83 per
barrel. Gold futures shed 0.14 percent to $1,732.00 per ounce.
In
the currency market, the euro dipped 0.09 percent against the U.S.
dollar to 1.2803, and the British pound inched up 0.05 percent to
1.5916. The dollar added 0.14 percent against the Japanese yen to
81.5300.