US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Economic Data, Wal-Mart Earnings

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 55 points to 13,834.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 5.90 points to 1,501.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 13.25 points to 2,724.25. US stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.77% to 13,927.54, the S&P 500 index falling 1.24% to 1,511.95 and the Nasdaq 100 index tumbling 1.53% to 3,164.41. The consumer price index for January and weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Markit PMI manufacturing index for February will be released at 8:58 a.m. ET. Data on existing home sales for January, the general business conditions index of the Philadelphia Fed's Survey for February and the Conference Board's index of leading indicators for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. VeriFone Systems

lowered its first-quarter outlook. Tesla Motors

reported a Q4 adjusted loss of $0.65 per share. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.59 per share. Wal-Mart Stores

is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $1.57 per share on revenue of $128.85 billion. Chesapeake Energy

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $2.86 billion. Safeway

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.76 per share on revenue of $13.70 billion. Hewlett-Packard Company

is projected to post its Q1 earnings at $0.71 per share on revenue of $27.79 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group

is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.39 per share on revenue of $2.90 billion. H. J. Heinz Company

is estimated to report its Q3 earnings at $0.90 per share on revenue of $2.99 billion. Nordstrom

is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $1.34 per share on revenue of $3.69 billion. American International Group

is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.08 per share on revenue of $8.70 billion. Public Storage

is projected to post its Q4 earnings at $1.77 per share on revenue of $439.45 million. Hormel Foods

is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.48 per share on revenue of $2.14 billion. PG&E

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.59 per share on revenue of $4.18 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts

is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.38 per share on revenue of $1.72 billion. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 1.31%, London's FTSE 100 Index dipped 1.50%, French CAC 40 Index fell 1.97% and German DAX 30 index declined 1.66%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.39%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 2.97% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 2.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.72% and India's Sensex fell 1.62%. The euro dropped 0.72% versus the dollar to trade at $1.3187. Gold futures for April delivery declined $11.60 to trade at $1,566.40 an ounce. April oil futures fell $1.32 to $93.89 a barrel in electronic trade.