• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Futures point to a slightly weaker Wall St start

Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:07am EDT

Stocks

   

* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average DJc1, the S&P 500 SPc1 and the Nasdaq 100 NDc1 traded down about 0.1 percent, pointing to a slightly weaker start on Wall Street after a positive close on Wednesday.

Stocks  |  Bonds  |  Global Markets

* U.S. GDP and jobless claims data are due at 1230 GMT.

* Crude oil futures CLc1 rose for a fourth straight day to trade near $119 a barrel, while the euro gained, adding to its recovery from a six-month low against the dollar EUR=.

* Fannie Mae (FNM.N), the biggest provider of U.S. home financing, and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) will be in focus. Shares of the companies have risen in past sessions as investors' confidence has been growing that there will be no government bailout that would wipe out their equity.

* Trading volume is expected to be light ahead of the U.S. Labor Day holiday weekend and could exaggerate price moves.

* The New York Times said that the New York Attorney General announced an agreement that would require Xcel Energy Inc (XEL.N), a builder of coal-fired plants, to disclose to investors the financial risks of global warming.

* The paper also reported that Amgen (AMGN.O) is halting some pricing practices that critics say were contributing to its flagship anaemia drug Aranesp at a time of mounting concerns about the product's safety.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash)



More from Reuters

Photo

Time Warner Cable, Fox at impasse; blackout looms

NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 13 million Time Warner Cable Inc subscribers were to lose most Fox programing at midnight on Thursday unless the cable service provider reached a last-minute deal to pay fees to News Corp to broadcast the shows.

A customer is served at a counter inside a foreign exchange store displaying a poster of various banknotes including the Chinese yuan or renminbi (RMB) in Hong Kong November 20, 2009. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
OUTLOOK 2010:

Be careful what you wish for

Pressure on China to loosen its grip on the yuan will continue but the U.S. should tread carefully. Here are five world market issues to watch.  Full Article 

Clients work out on machines at the Bally Total Fitness facility in Arvada, Colorado June 15, 2009.  REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Get real with resolutions

We make them and we break them: The secret to keeping them is to avoid the impossible dream.  Full Article