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Stock futures point to weaker Wall St
Addison Ray
LONDON | Wed Sep 8, 2010 4:57am EDT
LONDON Reuters Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower opening for U.S. shares on Wednesday, extending a decline from the previous session, as worries about the financial health of the euro zones banks resurfaced. * At 0841 GMT futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down between 0.1 and 0.2 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of leading European shares was down 0.2 percent at 1,059.90 points.
The yen struck a fresh 15-year high against the dollar and the Swiss franc hit an all-time high versus the euro on Wednesday as a flare-up in worries over euro zone banks and sovereign debt led investors to shun risk.
BP is expected to publish on Wednesday a report on the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico. The findings result from an internal investigation into events on the drilling rig, which exploded and sank, leading to the oil spill that gushed over 60,000 barrels per day of oil into the sea and cost the company $8 billion so far.
The Federal Reserve releases its periodic Beige Book, with anecdotal reports on the economy from the regional Feds. The economic evidence gathered from its 12 regional banks will provide insight into what is and isnt working well, drilling down to details as specific as Broadway show ticket sales, rural crop conditions and vacation resort bookings.
ICSC/Goldman Sachs release chain store sales for the week ended September 4 compared with the prior week. In the previous week sales rose 0.1 percent.
Redbook releases its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for September compared with August. In the prior period sales rose 1.0 percent.
U.S. stocks fell in very light volume on Tuesday as investors seized on renewed concerns about European banks as a reason to sell shares after strong gains last week. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI, the Standard & Poors 500 Index .SPX and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell between 1 and 1.2 percent.
Reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Greg Mahlich
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