US Stock Futures Face Dismal Day Again

Stock futures face another dismal day on Friday following Thursday’s selloff over economic concerns, weaker-than-expected jobless claims data and a negative Philadelphia Fed Index. The DOW futures fell 67 points to 10,271, the S&P 500 futures shed 7.3 points to 1,075.63, and the NASDAQ futures fell 10.25 points to 1,823. The DJIA shed more than 144 points to close at 10,271, with all 30 components ending Thursday in the red. There are no major economic releases due on Friday and the market will get its chance to react to Dell’s DELL and HP’s HPQ earnings which were disclosed after the bell on Thursday. DELL reported a 15.5% rise in its Q2 profit and HPQ posted 6% profit growth following the resignation of Chief Executive Mark Hurd. HPQ was down 1.01% at $40.35 and DELL was at $11.70, down 2.82% after hours on Thursday. Companies due to report results today include The JM Smucker Company SJM, AnnTaylor Stores ANN, Volt Information Sciences VOL, Hormel Foods Corp HRL, Corinthian Colleges COCO, Kirkland’s Inc. KIRK, Champion Industries CHMP, Matrix Service Company MTRX, and Hibbett Sports HIBB. According to analysts, Tyco International TYC shares are likely to witness heavy trading following S&P’s announcement to replace Smith International Inc. SII with TYC in the S&P 500 index. Shares in GAP Inc. GPS could rise following the announcement of better-than-expected earnings and a $750 million stock buyback plan. The Dollar fell 0.80% against the Euro at 1.2720, but gained 0.14% against the JPY at 85.44. Oil futures for September delivery fell 75 cents to $73.68 a barrel. Gold for December delivery slipped $3.30 to $1,232.10.