An uneasy feeling on Wall St. Stocks set for lower open as concern about interest rates spreads around the world. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As markets overseas pull back, U.S. investors are likely to continue their selling ways at the start of trading Thursday as worries grow that interest rates may resume their upward climb. At 8 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were down. Oil touched a five-month low in early trading, then rose ahead of the weekly U.S. inventory report. Still it remained below $68 a barrel - U.S. light crude gained 13 cents to $67.63 in electronic trading, while Brent crude traded in London was up 9 cents at $67.02. Major markets in Asia closed lower Thursday, after Wednesday's U.S. economic report showed unit labor costs rising, increasing inflation concerns. This came even as the Federal Reserve was reporting a slower U.S. economy in its so-called Beige Book, which would seem to lessen the threat of more Fed rate hikes to battle inflation. Markets in Europe were also lower in early trading. John Silvia, chief economist with Wachovia, said the unit labor cost number still seems to be overhanging the markets in early talk Thursday. "It's somewhat surprising because normally that number doesn't get a lot of coverage," said Silvia. "But it's made people a little more bearish about corporate profits. It seems like people have written off the Fed raising rates for the rest of the year, but now they're focused on earnings. Treasury prices eased, with the 10-year note yield rising to 4.82 percent from 4.79 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was lower against the yen and higher versus the euro. The only economic readings due Thursday were the weekly report on initial jobless claims, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, and the 10 a.m. ET monthly report on wholesale inventories. In corporate news, home builder Hovnanian Enterprises (Charts) reported a drop in profit, orders and margins, although it topped forecasts of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call. In addition, KB Home (Charts), another major builder, cut its full-year profit forecast and said it expects third-quarter earnings to fall short of analysts' forecasts. The reports are the latest sign of weakness in the closely watched real estate market. Boston Scientific (Charts) said a new internal analysis of its clinical data confirms an increased risk of blood clots with its drug-coated cardiac stent, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Palm (Charts) said after the close Wednesday that quarterly revenue missed its forecast as it sold fewer Treo smartphones. |
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