Nucor Warns on Q4; Investors Shrug

The institute's billings index, an indicator of non-residential building activity, showed a reading of 42.8 in November, down from October's 46.1. (Any figure under 50 means that construction activity will likely shrink over the next nine to 12 months.) Though it has recorded a reading below 50 since January 2008, the index had been strengthening over the last few months.

Also this week, word emerged that ArcelorMittal(MT), the world's biggest steelmaker, may be planning to cut as many as 10,000 workers next year, though the company did not publicly peg a number on the jobs it planned to eliminate.

A representative of the United Steelworkers union told the Associated Press that his union had received no word from ArcelorMittal about layoffs, and that the group didn't expect mass job cuts because of a strengthening steel market in the U.S.

-- Written by Scott Eden in New York

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