By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures were pointing to a
slightly lower, to flat, start for Wall Street after the European
Commission slashed its growth forecasts for Europe.
On a more upbeat note, shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and
CVS Health Corp. were on the rise after positive results.
Investors were also keeping a close eye on the price of oil,
which dropped to levels not seen in three years after Saudi Arabia
cut oil prices for the U.S. Indeed, December crude oil fell $2.46.
or 3%, to around $76 a barrel.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) fell 10
points to 17,275, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4)
dropped 2.2 points to 2,008.90. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index
(NDZ4) fell 6.5 points to 4,150.75.
Stock futures ceded slightly positive territory after the EU cut
its forecast for gross domestic product for the 18-country eurozone
region to 0.8% this year, from a 1.2% forecast in the spring.
Lower-than-expected growth in Germany, France and Italy dragged
down those forecasts. The assessment comes ahead of Thursday's
European Central Bank meeting.
Weak oil, weak Europe: Already weak oil prices didn't take
kindly to the EU growth assessment. The U.S. oil benchmark
continued to slide Tuesday, dropping close to 3%, and Brent crude
also was under renewed pressure after Saudi Arabia deepened price
cuts for the U.S. market. Strategists said the move will pave the
way for further falls in oil prices and pressure American energy
producers.
U.S. stocks ended a choppy session mostly lower on Monday, with
energy stocks weighing on major indexes after the Saudi move.
But Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari U.K., said he doesn't
buy a connection between weak stocks and falling oil prices, but
rather it was probably linked to Monday's batch of mixed data.
"Weaker oil prices may be bad for the big oil companies, but when
it comes to the global economy, it's actually a hidden stimulus,"
he said.
Analysts don't expect Wall Street to find much direction ahead
of Thursday's ECB meeting and Friday's nonfarm payroll data. "We do
expect the market to consolidate till then and the volatility could
pick up sharply during the event," said Naeem Aslam, chief market
analyst at AvaTrade, in emailed comments.
U.S. voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide closely
contested Senate races and control of that chambler. See: A
breakdown of how the market performs after midterm elections
Data on tap includes the September trade deficit at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern Time and factory orders for the same month at 10 a.m.
Eastern. St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard will
appear on a Fox Business Network interview at 9 a.m. Eastern.
Alibaba, Herbalife among stocks to watch: Ahead of the opening
bell, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) reported sales that beat
forecasts, sending shares up 1% in premarket. CVS Health Corp.
(CVS) jumped 3.3% after its results, which was the same Burger King
Worldwide Inc. (BKW) was up slightly on its results.
Shares of Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) fell 15% after the company
reported disappointing third-quarter results.
RetailMeNot Inc. (SALE) sank 20% after posting strong results,
but warning that much of its growth has been from "lower monetizing
mobile visits."
Sprint Corp. (S) slid 12% after results fell short of Wall
Street expectations.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. (GOOG) reached a deal with
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) in which the two tech giants will allow
consumers who buy a Disney movie from either of their online stores
to watch it on smartphones, tablets and other digital devices that
run their rival's operating system.
Other markets: Europe stocks erased gains after news of the cut
in eurozone growth forecasts, while in Asia, the Nikkei 225 surged
2.7%. Gold prices (GCZ4) were moderately lower, while the
dollar(USDJPY) was taking a breather from rapid gains against the
yen.
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