Stocks slip at open
U.S. markets post slim decline in early trade as investors await a slew of data on manufacturing, auto sales and the overall economy.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slipped at Wednesday's open as investors eyed lower oil prices and geared up for a slew of economic reports.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) all lost a few points in the first few minutes of trade.
Stocks finished lower Tuesday, unable to hold early gains, as concern about the global economic picture overshadowed a sharp drop in oil prices.
Oil prices were down - but off their lows - in early trading, after tumbling $5.75 to $109.71 Tuesday as fears eased about damage caused to Gulf of Mexico drilling platforms by Hurricane Gustav.
Crude was down $1.53 a barrel to $108.18.
Asian stocks ended mixed, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.6%. European stocks opened lower. The dollar gained against the euro and the British pound but slipped against the Japanese yen.
Economy: Investors are getting indications about employment, manufacturing, auto sales and the overall picture during the course of the day.
The consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas issued its monthly report of job cuts, showing the highest level of summertime cuts since 2002.
Employers announced plans to reduce workforces by 88,736 jobs in August. That was 14% fewer than the 103,312 jobs announced in July, but 12% higher than the 79,459 cuts announced in August 2007.
Challenger said it was the seventh out of eight months this year that monthly job cuts were higher than the year-ago figure. The report preceded, by two days, the more closely watched government employment data that is expected to show the eighth straight month of job losses.
The government's July reading of factory orders is slated for release after the opening bell. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected growth to slow to a 0.4% gain after a rise of 1.7% in June.
Auto and truck sales, reflecting new incentive programs by the major makers, will come in throughout the middle of the day.
Finally, at 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve issues its "beige book" gauging conditions throughout the nation in preparation for the next interest rate meeting of policy makers later this month.
Companies: Staples (SPLS, Fortune 500) reported a 16% drop in second-quarter net profit to $150 million, or 21 cents per share. The office supply giant reported an 18% gain in sales to $5.1 billion. Chief Executive Ron Sargent blamed declining sales in North America and "challenging economic times."
But the company still managed to beat expectations for sales and match projections for earnings. A consensus of analysts interviewed by Thomson First Call expected a 9% gain in sales to $4.7 billion.
Tax preparer H&R Block (HRB) and clothing retailer Guess Inc. (GES) are expected to release results after the market close. The analyst consensus from Thomson First Call expected H&R Block to report a 1% slip in sales to $378 million and a narrower loss of 35 cents a share. The analyst consensus for Guess projects a 19% gain in sales to $461 million, and a 21% jump in earnings to 49 cents per share.
Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500), the world's largest soft drink company said Wednesday it has offered to buy a Chinese juice maker, China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd., for $2.5 billion. 
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