U.S. Stock Futures Lower as Pessimism Reigns

Premarket futures were suggesting Wall Street would extend the previous day's losses Thursday, as traders continued to face a harsh economic reality and confronted a dire future for the hapless U.S. automotive sector.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 13 points at 800 and were 5.8 short of fair value. Nasdaq futures were losing 18 points at 1075 and were 13 below fair value.

On Wednesday, stocks spent much of the day in the red and took a final plunge into the close, saddling the major averages with heavy losses. Dismal housing and consumer-price data, as well as uncertainty over the fate of the automakers, contributed to the pessimism.

Following the close of that session, the prospects of government aid for General Motors (GM Quote), Ford (F Quote) and Chrysler appeared to diminish as the Senate, which heard testimony from CEOs of the Big Three on Tuesday and Wednesday, deadlocked on the proper course of action and canceled plans to continue debating the issue Thursday.

It didn't appear that the auto manufacturers' prospects would improve on their own, as GM announced it would be cease production at one of its Thailand facilities for as much as two months.

Meanwhile, aircraft maker and Dow Jones Industrial Average component Boeing (BA Quote) said it would lay off 800 workers in a Kansas facility thanks to delays and terminations of various projects.

Bloomberg reported that industrial conglomerate and Dow stock General Electric (GE Quote) was in talks to secure investments from several Asian sovereign wealth funds.