US Stock Futures Down As Investors Await Economic Data, HSBC Down In Pre-Market Trading

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data, including personal income and pending home sales. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1 point to 12,109.00. Futures on the S&P 500 stock index slipped 1.60 points to 1,316.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.75 points to 2,344.00. US stock markets closed higher, with the blue-chip Dow index gaining 0.51% to close at 12,130 on Friday. Data on personal income and consumer spending for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, the Chicago PMI for February is due at 9:45 a.m. ET. Data on pending home sales for January will be released at 10 a.m. ET. William C. Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is due to speak at New York University on the economic outlook. Eric S. Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is likely to participate in a panel discussion on lessons learned from the global meltdown in Boston. Shares of HSBC Holdings Plc HBC dropped about 3.7% in pre-market trading after the banking giant reported weaker-than-expected 2010 net profit. AES Corp AES is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.25 per share on revenue of $3.80 billion. Edison International EIX is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $0.60 on revenue of $4.20 billion. Live Nation Entertainment Inc LYV is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.15 per share on revenue of $1.12 billion. Sotheby's BID is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $1.32 per share on revenue of $297.96 million. European markets were mixed today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.05%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.44%. Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.93%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.03% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.92%. The economic growth of India slowed to 8.2% in the Q4 of 2010 from the year-ago period. April Nymex crude-oil futures rose $0.07 to $97.95 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Gold futures rose to $1,410.70 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) dropped 0.54% to 76.86. The euro rose 0.6% to $1.3830. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.