US Stock Futures Slightly Down Ahead Of Durable-Goods Data, Applied Materials Shares Down In Pre-Market Trading

US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting durable-goods data. Shares of Applied Materials Inc

dropped in pre-market trading after the company issued a disappointing forecast. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 14 points to 12,313.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 1.70 points to 1,311.90. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 1.25 points to 2,300.50. US stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average dropping 0.20% to 12,356.21, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declining 0.08% to 1,316.28 and the NASDAQ composite index dipping 0.46% to 2,746.16. Data on April durable-goods orders will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, March home-price statistics from the Federal Housing Finance Agency will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Polo Ralph Lauren Corp

is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $1.39 billion. Hormel Foods Corp

is estimated to report its Q2 earnings at $0.40 per share on revenue of $1.82 billion. Netapp Inc

is estimated to post its Q4 EPS at $0.53 on revenue of $1.39 billion. Guess? Inc

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $567.72 million. American Eagle Outfitters Inc

is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.15 per share on revenue of $637.50 million. Computer Sciences Corp

is expected to report its Q4 EPS at $1.11 on revenue of $4.23 billion. Shares of Applied Materials fell about 5.2% in pre-market trading after the company reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter profit, but issued weaker-than-expected projections for the current quarter. Applied Materials reported its FQ2 profit at $489 million, or $0.37 per share, up from $264 million, or $0.20 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue increased to $2.86 billion, from $2.3 billion. The company's adjusted profit came in at $0.38 per share. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.37 per share on revenue of $2.77 billion. Shares of American Insurance Group Inc

dropped about 2% in pre-market trading after the company and the US Treasury Department raised $8.7 billion in its common stock offering. AIG sold 100 million shares and the Treasury Department sold 200 million shares at $29 per share. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc

posted a FQ4 net loss at $22.4 million, or $0.27 per share, versus a loss of $9.7 million, or $0.13 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, TTWO reported an adjusted loss of $14.4 million, or $0.18 per share. Its revenue dropped 22% to $182.3 million. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.41 per share on revenue of $145.72 million. Costco Wholesale Corp

reported a 5.9% rise in its fiscal third-quarter net profit. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.57%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.99% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.91%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.07% and India's Sensex dropped 0.91%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.26%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.13%. The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.2% to 76.11. Light-crude for July delivery dropped $0.23 to $99.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the Globex market. However, July silver gained $1.11 to $37.24 an ounce. Read more