• Home >
• News >
• Forex News

• Send
• Print
• Add To

US stock futures dip; stimulus, bank rescue plans eyed

Mon, Feb 9 2009, 10:12 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com

* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, as stocks surrender a portion of their recent lofty gains while investors keenly await the approval of Washington's huge stimulus plan and bank rescue package.

* At 0938 GMT, futures for the S&P 500 were down 1.3 percent, the Dow Jones futures were down 0.9 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.9 percent.

* Top aides to U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Democratic and Republican lawmakers to set aside political differences and quickly give the green light to a huge economic stimulus package this week.

* Later on Monday, the Democratic-led Senate, with the help of a handful of Republicans, was due to vote to end debate on the $827 billion plan to clear the way for its passage on Tuesday. The bill must then be reconciled with the $819 billion version passed earlier by the House of Representatives without any Republican support.

* On Sunday, the Obama administration pushed back until Tuesday the announcement of an eagerly-awaited bank rescue plan as it pressed lawmakers to settle their differences over a huge economic stimulus package. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will outline the bailout plan in a speech at 11 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, the Treasury Department said.

* Tech shares will be in the spotlight after South Korea's LG Electronics Inc, the maker of mobile phones, TVs and appliances, said it is aiming to cut $2.2 billion in costs and expects about a 20 percent decline in sales in dollar terms this year amid the spreading global recession.

* Banking shares will also be in focus after British bank Barclays Plc said bonus payments across the bank would almost halve for 2008 as it reported a 14 percent drop in annual profit and said it faces a tough year ahead. Its profit beat expectations, however, and the bank's shares jumped over 7 percent in early trading on Monday. But concerns in the sector remained high, with shares of Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan's biggest brokerage, sinking more than 14 percent to a 26-year low on Monday after its plan to issue up to $3.3 billion in new stock to bolster its capital triggered dilution concerns.

* Nissan Motor Co joined a growing list of automakers warning of red ink this year on the global car slump, marking its first loss since Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn took the reins a decade ago. Japan's No.3 automaker also said it would slash production in the year to March by 20 percent, and group-wide headcount by 20,000 workers by the end of March 2010, mostly through natural attrition in Japan.

* General Motors Corp is in talks to take back large portions of Delphi Corp, the parts supplier spun off by the auto maker a decade ago, The Wall Street Journal reported, which said the move is part of a strategy to qualify for additional government loans.

* U.S. stocks rose for a second day on Friday on hopes Washington's stimulus package and a bank rescue plan would help revive the stricken economy, even as data showed the biggest one-month job losses in 34 years.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 217.52 points, or 2.70 percent, to 8,280.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 22.75 points, or 2.69 percent, to 868.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 45.47 points, or 2.94 percent, at 1,591.71.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS US EUROPE

(blaise.robinson@reuters.com ; +33 1 4949 5269, Reuters Messaging: blaise.robinson.reuters.com@reuters.net)

COPYRIGHT

Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.