US Stock Futures Point To Bleak Markets Today
US stock market futures are again pointing to a lower opening for today, as the markets await the results of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and an annual State of the Union address from President Barack Obama later this evening. The FOMC is set to announce its decision on rates. Strategists and investors are waiting for the address to see if the President will maintain his aggressive stance.
While futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 8 points to 10130, those at the S&P 500 slipped 0.4 points to 1086.80. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.25 points to 1795.25. The shares in focus today will be Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and several others, such as Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT), Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) and General Dynamics Corp (NYSE: GD), which are scheduled to post their results today.
In Europe, stocks were down for five out of six sessions, after Spanish banking giant Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA) (NASDAQ: BBVA) reported a 94% drop in its fourth quarter profits on increased provisions for bad loans. BBVA lost ground after the results, pressurizing the other banks as well.
Asian markets, including those in India, Australia, Hong Kong and Shanghai, continued to fall today as investors remained worried about monetary tightening.
Stock markets across the world fell again today, hitting their lowest in two months, as investors fretted about a monetary squeeze from central banks around the world and also the impact of tightening US banking regulations.
Read more from Benzinga's Markets.
