U.S. futures rise ahead of Fed meeting; Dow Jones up 0.09%
Investing.com
Published Nov 02, 2011 07:11AM ET
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.13% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.05% gain.
U.S. stocks remained vulnerable amid speculation that the Fed could revise down its forecasts for economic growth at the end of its two-day policy-setting meeting later Wednesday.
Investors remained jittery after Greece's prime minister unexpectedly called for a referendum on the country's recent bailout deal on Tuesday, fueling new concerns over the euro zone's financial woes.
U.S. lenders posted sharp losses, as shares in Citigroup plummeted 7.66% and Bank of America tumbled 6.30%, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs plunged 5.90% and 5.49%.
Internet-based travel website Expedia saw shares soar 4.27%, while wireless broadcast towers provider American Tower Corp jumped 3.30%, despite reporting dismal third-quarter financial results.
Meanwhile, shares in ITT Corporation surged 7.24% after reporting that its revenue rose 12.8% to USD2.98 billion.
Shares in Wal-Mart Stores were down 0.86%, after the food chain announced an early preview of its Black Friday deals and said it will also hold an early holiday sale.
Elsewhere, Teva Pharmaceuticals dropped 4.33% after posting lower third-quarter net profit, although it beat profit estimates, while Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold saw shares tumble 3.73%, after announcing that production and processing rates at its strike-hit mine in Indonesia fell below levels needed to meet fourth-quarter sales targets.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.03%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.37%, Germany's DAX gained 0.55%, while Britain's FTSE 100 posted a 0.55% decline.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 2.21%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on non-farm payrolls. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve was to conclude its two-day policy-setting meeting; Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was to conduct the bank’s post-policy meeting press conference.
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