Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Tuesday, amid ongoing global growth concerns and as investor confidence was hit after Moody’s lowered credit ratings on five Spanish regions late Monday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.91% drop, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.05% plunge, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.95% decline.
Market sentiment weakened after ratings agency Moody’s cut the credit ratings of Catalonia and four other Spanish regions late Monday, citing their worsening liquidity positions and predicting that these regions are likely to ask the central government for aid in 2013.
The downgrade comes on the heels of regional elections in Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s center-right Popular Party increased its majority in his home region of Galicia on Sunday, removing a possible obstacle to formally requesting financial aid from Spain’s euro zone partners.
Investors were also eyeing the Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting, which kicks off later in the day, after the central bank announced its third round of quantitative easing last month.
In the tech sector, Apple was expected to be active, as the company is to make its biggest product move later Tuesday since the iPad's debut two years ago, launching a smaller, cheaper tablet. Shares in the iPhone maker were down 0.38% in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, Texas Instruments said late Monday that net income will be 23 cents to 31 cents a share on revenue of USD2.83 billion to USD3.07 billion, below analysts' estimates, sending shares down 0.50% in early trading.
Elsewhere, Yahoo saw shares surge 3.99% pre-market, after saying third-quarter profit excluding some items was 35 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate for 26 cents.
Marissa Mayer, who took over in July as the company’s fifth chief executive officer in four years, added that the company will emphasize on mobile technology and personalized services in a strategy to reverse a sales decline.
Also in earnings news, Whirlpool said it sees 2012 ongoing earnings of USD6.90 to USD7.10, compared with its July forecast of USD6.50 to USD7, sending shares up 1.15% in pre-market trade.
Other stocks in focus included 3M and United Technologies, slated to report earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.33%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.20%, Germany's DAX dove 1.44%, while Britain's FTSE 100 plummeted 1.12%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.68%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched up 0.04%.
Markets were expected to remain subdued ahead of the release later in the week of U.S. data including monthly new home sales, durable goods orders and third-quarter GDP figures.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.91% drop, S&P 500 futures signaled a 1.05% plunge, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.95% decline.
Market sentiment weakened after ratings agency Moody’s cut the credit ratings of Catalonia and four other Spanish regions late Monday, citing their worsening liquidity positions and predicting that these regions are likely to ask the central government for aid in 2013.
The downgrade comes on the heels of regional elections in Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s center-right Popular Party increased its majority in his home region of Galicia on Sunday, removing a possible obstacle to formally requesting financial aid from Spain’s euro zone partners.
Investors were also eyeing the Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting, which kicks off later in the day, after the central bank announced its third round of quantitative easing last month.
In the tech sector, Apple was expected to be active, as the company is to make its biggest product move later Tuesday since the iPad's debut two years ago, launching a smaller, cheaper tablet. Shares in the iPhone maker were down 0.38% in pre-market trade.
Meanwhile, Texas Instruments said late Monday that net income will be 23 cents to 31 cents a share on revenue of USD2.83 billion to USD3.07 billion, below analysts' estimates, sending shares down 0.50% in early trading.
Elsewhere, Yahoo saw shares surge 3.99% pre-market, after saying third-quarter profit excluding some items was 35 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate for 26 cents.
Marissa Mayer, who took over in July as the company’s fifth chief executive officer in four years, added that the company will emphasize on mobile technology and personalized services in a strategy to reverse a sales decline.
Also in earnings news, Whirlpool said it sees 2012 ongoing earnings of USD6.90 to USD7.10, compared with its July forecast of USD6.50 to USD7, sending shares up 1.15% in pre-market trade.
Other stocks in focus included 3M and United Technologies, slated to report earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.33%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.20%, Germany's DAX dove 1.44%, while Britain's FTSE 100 plummeted 1.12%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.68%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched up 0.04%.
Markets were expected to remain subdued ahead of the release later in the week of U.S. data including monthly new home sales, durable goods orders and third-quarter GDP figures.