U.S. stock futures signaled a recovery on Wednesday after two volatile sessions, with attention turning to Lehman Brothers and whether the investment bank can soothe the fears that have walloped its stock over the last few sessions. S&P 500 futures rose 7.3 points to 1,233.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 17 points to 1,745.75. Dow industrial futures rose 63 points. U.S. stocks ended Tuesday with sharp losses, pretty much erasing all of the gains on Monday from the U.S. government's move to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 280 points, the Nasdaq Composite lost 59 points and the S&P 500 fell 43 points. The worries on Tuesday centered around Lehman Brothers (LEH:Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc LEH 7.79, -6.36, -44.9%) , which dropped 45% on concerns over the investment bank's ability to raise capital to counter growing losses. Lehman has brought its third-quarter earnings up to Wednesday morning, and will announce strategic initiatives. They won't include a deal with Korea, as the Korea Development Bank issued its own statement on Wednesday saying talks collapsed over price and the broader market. In pre-market trade, Lehman shares rallied 32%. That's not only the financial-sector deal to have collapsed: GFI Group (GFIG:gfi group inc com GFIG 9.61, -1.49, -13.4%) said merger talks with Tullett Prebon ended. Oil futures got a lift after OPEC's surprise decision to reduce production quotas by roughly 500,000 barrels a day. However, the International Energy Agency cut its estimates of 2008 and 2009 global oil demand. Weekly energy inventory data also is due for release. Oil futures rose 69 cents to $103.95 a barrel. FedEx (FDX:fedex corp com News, chart, profile, more Last: 84.72-0.14-0.16% FDX 84.72, -0.14, -0.2%) gave an updated forecast, as the hard-hit parcel service lifted its fiscal first-quarter earnings view to $1.23 from a previous estimate of 80 cents to $1 a share, citing the recent drop in oil prices. Outside of financials and energy, Texas Instruments (TXN:Texas Instruments Incorporated News, chart, profile, more Last: 21.71-0.67-2.99%
TXN 21.71, -0.67, -3.0%) will be in the spotlight as the computer chip maker said it expects third-quarter sales of $3.33 billion to $3.47 billion, compared with its previous range of $3.26 billion to $3.54 billion. The company also said it foresees earnings of 42 cents to 46 cents a share. It had expected 41 cents to 47 cents a share. "The company indicated that all segments were tracking consistent to expectations and that, unlike last quarter, it has a good handle on distributor plans," said Deutsche Bank analysts. Asian and Europe markets lost ground on Wednesday after the overnight U.S. selling. The Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% in Tokyo and the FTSE 100 lost 0.9% in London. The dollar rose 0.5% to 107.37 yen. |