U.S. stock futures point to weaker open; Dow sheds 0.25%

Investing.com – U.S. stock futures pointed to a weaker open on Tuesday, as lingering concerns over the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis continued to weigh on market sentiment.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.25%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a modest decline of 0.15%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a 0.1% drop.

Stock futures trimmed losses after official data showed that U.S. import prices fell by 0.4% in August, beating expectations for a 0.8% decline.

Concerns over the euro zone’s debt crisis remained in focus after the Italian Treasury auctioned EUR3.9 billion of five-year bonds at an average yield of 5.6%, the highest since the inception of the euro and up from 4.93% last month.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a radio interview earlier that Europe was doing everything in its power to prevent a default by Greece.

In earnings news, the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer Best Buy jumped 2.95% in pre-market trade after it raised its full-year earnings outlook and announced a USD1.5 billion share buy-back plan.

For the current quarter, the retailer said net profit fell to USD177 million, but revenue rose to USD11.35 billion, boosted by strong sales of tablets and appliances.

News Corp. shares fell 1.1% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.K. Parliament will recall the deputy chief operating officer James Murdoch for further questioning as part of the company’s phone hacking scandal. 

Shares in technology bellwether Cisco Systems slipped 0.25% ahead of its annual financial analyst conference later in the day. Chairman and chief executive John Chambers was scheduled to deliver a keynote speech.

Other stocks in focus include computer maker Hewlett-Packard, which extended the deadline for its offer for U.K.-based software firm Autonomy to October 3 after it received acceptances from only 41.6% of Autonomy shareholders.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed, with shares in French lenders underperforming amid concerns ratings agency Moody’s will downgrade their credit ratings due to their exposure to Greek government debt.

The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.55%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.25%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.85%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.2% higher.

During the Asian trading session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.95% as reports that China might purchase Italian bonds helped lift sentiment.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a government report on the federal budget balance, as well as data on consumer confidence.