Market Features

Return to Article

Futures Suggest Mixed Open for U.S. Stocks

Mike Taylor

Premarket futures were suggesting a mixed open for stocks in New York Tuesday as traders looked to Goldman Sachs (GS Quote) and the Federal Reserve for signs of hope after a brutal Monday.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.9 points at 1195, but were 1.8 points above fair value. Nasdaq futures were up 5.5 points at 1727, and were 13 points above fair value.

During trading on Monday, bad news from Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote), Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) and AIG (AIG Quote) sent the market plunging. The three major indices each lost at least 3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average staged its worst one-day drop in seven years.

On Monday, Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection after failing to find a partner willing to take on its subprime exposure. Lehman's bankruptcy is the largest in U.S. history in terms of assets held before the filing.

Also struggling with bad assets and fears that it may go the way of Lehman, Merrill agreed to be bought by Bank of America (BAC Quote) for $50 billion.

Meanwhile, AIG, whose balance sheet is crippled by its sale of insurance on subprime-related securities, struggled to raise enough capital to avoid a credit-rating downgrade.

Ahead of the new day's trading, investors were looking to a third-quarter earnings report from investment bank Goldman Sachs for a glimmer of life in the ailing financial system. So far, Goldman has seemed exceptionally sturdy compared with its peers in the deeply troubled sector. Analysts expect the company to turn a profit, albeit one significantly lower than its year-ago results.

In the realm of economic data, the Federal Reserve is expected to decide whether it will cut its target interest rate. In the wake of recent turmoil, economists and investors have increased their expectations for a rate reduction.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is also set to release its August consumer price index.

Shifting to commodities, crude oil was losing $3.10 to $92.61 a barrel. Gold was falling $6.10 to $780.90 an ounce.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were falling in price. The 10-year note was down 5/32 to yield 3.4%, and the 30-year was down 18/32, yielding 4.05%. The dollar was losing ground vs. the yen, euro and pound.

Abroad, markets such as the FTSE in London and the Dax in Frankfurt were trading lower. The Nikkei in Japan and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong closed with losses.