U.S. Stock-Index Futures Retreat Amid Renewed EU Debt Concern
U.S. stock futures fell, signaling that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may extend its two-week retreat, as Greece prepared to ask for a bigger bailout amid renewed sovereign-debt concern in Europe.
NYSE Euronext (NYX) sank 9.3 percent in early New York trading after NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) withdrew their offer for the operator of the New York Stock Exchange. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Citigroup Inc. (C) led banks lower in German trading. Lowe’s Cos. slid in early New York trading after the retailer posted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.
S&P 500 futures expiring in June lost 0.3 percent to 1,329.3 at 7:27 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.4 percent to 12,511, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures slipped 0.2 percent 2,365.5.
“Markets are concerned by the loss of economic momentum and the resurgence of risk in the euro zone,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. “It is a market that has good fundamental support in the background, but what’s lacking right now is some stronger lead that will take the market upward.”
Greece will plead for European governments and the International Monetary Fund to boost its 110 billion-euro ($155 billion) bailout today in talks clouded by the arrest of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. European finance ministers will also discuss the approval of 78 billion euros in Portuguese aid at their Brussels meeting.
Strauss-Kahn Charges
Strauss-Kahn, 62, is awaiting his first court appearance on attempted rape charges after an alleged attack on a 32-year-old female maid at a Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan on May 14, according to the New York Police Department. He has denied the charges and will plead not guilty, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said.
The S&P 500 has lost 1.9 percent so far this month, led by commodity producers, after inflation reports spurred speculation that global interest rates will rise. The gauge has still climbed 6.4 percent this year as government stimulus measures and better-than-estimated corporate earnings boosted confidence in the economic recovery.
NYSE plunged 9.3 percent to $37.07 in early New York trading after Nasdaq and ICE withdrew their rival offer for the company following discussions with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG agreed to buy NYSE in February. Nasdaq’s shares were suspended pending the announcement.
Goldman Sachs lost 0.7 percent to $140.47 in Germany, while Citigroup fell 1.1 percent to $41.08. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) slid 0.3 percent to $43.01.
Alcoa Inc. (AA) declined 1.2 percent to $16.89 in Germany, while ConocoPhillips (COP), the nation’s third-biggest oil company, dropped 0.2 percent to $71.27.
Commodities Slide
Copper fell as much as 0.8 percent in London and crude oil dropped below $98 a barrel in New York as funds cut their bets on higher commodity prices by 15 percent on mounting concern that global growth is slowing.
The funds held a net 1.23 million contracts across 18 U.S. commodity futures as of May 10, the lowest since July, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The net-long position in crude oil slumped 13 percent in a week, while for copper it fell 59 percent and for silver 23 percent.
Lowe’s sank 3 percent to $24.98 in early New York trading after the second-largest U.S. home improvement retailer reported a 5.7 percent decline in first-quarter profit to 34 cents a share, as sagging home values crimped demand for large remodeling projects. That trailed the average analyst estimate of 36 cents a share, according to a Bloomberg survey.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
U.S. Stocks Fall
Jin Lee/Bloomberg
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Deborah Kostroun reports on the performance of the U.S. equity market today. U.S. stocks fell, erasing a weekly gain, as CA Inc. led technology shares lower after earnings missed estimates and banks slid amid concern about Europe’s debt crisis and closer government scrutiny. Bloomberg's Pimm Fox also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Chad Morganlander, a portfolio manager at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., talks about the performance of the financial markets and some of his stock picks including Gap Inc., WellPoint Inc., Humana Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. Morganlander speaks with Matt Miller, Julie Hyman, Susan O'Halloran and Sheila Dharmarajan on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Cali Carlin reports on the performance of the U.S. equity market today. U.S. stocks retreated, extending a two-week slump for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as Greece sought additional bailout funds and a report showed that manufacturing growth in the New York region cooled. Bloomberg's Pimm Fox also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager at Permanent Portfolio Funds in San Francisco, talks about the performance of the stock market, the outlook for equities and the European debt crisis. Cuggino speaks with Matt Miller, Adam Johnson and Julie Hyman on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., talks about U.S. budget policy and the debt limit. Gross, speaking on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan," also discusses European sovereign debt crises and Federal Reserve policy. (Source: Bloomberg)
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Peter Westaway, chief European economist at Nomura International Plc in London, talks about the outlook for today's meeting of the International Monetary Fund and euro-area finance ministers on the European debt crisis following the arrest of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Westaway speaks with Deirdre Bolton on Bloomberg Television's "InsideTrack." (Source: Bloomberg)
U.S. Stocks Retreat
Jin Lee/Bloomberg
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Photographer: Jin Lee/Bloomberg
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