US Stock Futures Point To Lower Opening

US Stock Futures tumbled after Alcoa (NYSE: AA) kicked off the earnings season with disappointing results. While S&P 500 futures fell 6.9 points to 1135.30, futures on the NASDAQ 100 slipped 11.75 points to 1872. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was no different, with futures on the index dropping by 60 points.

Sentiments surrounding US futures were affected by Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) issuing a warning for its 2010 earnings due to weakness in Europe and a shift to lower-margin products. Meanwhile, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 traded 0.5% lower, with general weakness in the metals sector on AA’s result.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.4% and Germany's DAX index fell 0.5%. However, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 0.8%.