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Futures Point to Declines as New Trading Week Begins

Mike Taylor

Premarket futures were suggesting a lower open for stocks in New York Monday, as major manufacturing and transportation companies struggled with severe economic turmoil.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 24 points at 871 and were 25 points below fair value. Nasdaq futures were lower by 26 points and were 26 short of fair value.

At the end of an abbreviated session Friday, the major averages finished on the upside in light trading. Investors were monitoring the retailers as consumers flocked to stores to partake in "Black Friday" sales, which mark the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

Last week, the S&P 500 rose 12%, while Nasdaq gained 11%.

Ahead of Monday's trading, beleaguered automaker General Motors (GM Quote) was ironing out a plan to cajole Congress into giving it federal money, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The report indicated that GM's board is willing to explore all restructuring options, including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, if it can't secure government funds.

Over the weekend, another report by the Journal said that GM was exploring other plans to shore up its balance sheet, including offering its debt holders the opportunity to swap credit for equity.

As the carmakers faced dire circumstances, the United Auto Workers called for Congressional aid for the Big Three.

The Journal also reported that Delta Air Lines (DAL Quote) would scale back its orders for Boeing's (BA Quote) new 787 Dreamliner and instead add to its orders for the long-range 777-200LR.

In the financial sector, Citigroup (C Quote) bought a highway business from Spanish construction firm Sacyr Vallehermoso for $10 billion. Media reports also suggested Citi would sell its Japanese trust banking unit for $416.7 million.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley (MS Quote) may buy regional banks to expand its retail banking footprint after becoming a bank holding company in September, according to a Journal report.

Looking at the day's economic data, the Census Bureau's October construction spending figures are due out, as is a read on November manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management.

In the realm of commodities, crude oil for January delivery was down $3 to $51.43 a barrel. On Saturday, OPEC said it will forgo new reductions in output but did not rule out a supply cutback going forward. Gold was down $27 to $792 an ounce.

Longer-dated U.S. Treasury securities were rising in price. The 10-year note was gaining 16/32 to yield 2.87%, and the 30-year was up 1-14/32, yielding 3.37%. The dollar was rising vs. the euro and pound but falling against the yen.

Overseas, European exchanges such as the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt were trading lower. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed with losses, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended on the upside.