3:17 AM
Stock index futures slip as earnings eyed
Addison Ray
Thu Nov 11, 2010 5:32am EST
(Reuters) - Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures were 0.2 percent lower and Nasdaq futures were down 0.7 percent at 1005 GMT.
U.S. federal government and bond markets were closed for Veterans Day.
Investors will watch company earnings news after Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) gave a dismal revenue outlook, stunning investors who had hoped for proof of a recovery in technology spending.
In Frankfurt, Cisco (CSCO.F) shares were down 10.6 percent.
On the earnings front, Walt Disney was set to report fourth-quarter earnings and Kohls Corp., NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA.O), Viacom will report third-quarter earnings.
Investors will also watch the G20 summit in Seoul. The United States sought to shore up support to tackle global economic problems as Group of 20 leaders met on Thursday, although the meeting of developed and emerging nations looked set to achieve little of substance.
In other news, Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) will offer free shipping on nearly 60,000 gift items, including toys and electronics, when purchased through its website, the New York Times reported.
Clothing retailer Gap (GPS.N) opened its first store in mainland China on Thursday, the first of four planned stores there as it banks on rising Chinese incomes to prop up soft demand back home.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is looking into Google's (GOOG.O) "Street View" maps service to see if the company's collection of emails and other private information violated federal laws.
Oil reached a 25-month high for a fifth consecutive session as strong industrial output sent demand in China to a record and a surplus subsided in top consumer the United States.
Chinese inflation sped to a 25-month high in October and bank lending blew past expectations, highlighting the challenge faced by the government as it battles to keep a lid on price pressures.
European shares slipped 0.2 percent on Thursday, on renewed worries about debt levels in peripheral euro zone countries, notably Ireland, with technology stocks hit after Cisco's dismal revenue outlook.
U.S. stocks advanced on Wednesday as investors put the previous day's uncertainty aside and snapped up some of the week's biggest losers in renewed optimism that the rally remained intact.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 0.1 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC advanced 0.6 percent.
(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Dan Lalor)
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