US Stock Futures Down Ahead Of Retail Sales Data

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting retail sales data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 17 points to 14,365.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 1.50 points to 1,544.70. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 4.25 points to 2,793.25. US stocks closed mostly lower on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.02% to 14,450.06, the S&P 500 index dropping 0.24% to 1,552.48 and the Nasdaq 100 index falling 0.32% to 3,242.32. The MBA purchase applications index will be released at 7:00 a.m. ET. Data on retail sales for February and import prices for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Data on business inventories for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET, while the EIA weekly report on petroleum inventories will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. Spectrum Pharmaceuticals SPPI reported that it expects sales of its drug Fusilev in the range of $10 million to $15 million for the first quarter and $80 million to $90 million for the year. Velti VELT posted a loss of $5.18 million in the fourth quarter. Accretive Health AH is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.09 per share on revenue of $236.87 million. Elbit Systems ESLT is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.88 per share on revenue of $838.40 million. Express EXPR is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.74 per share on revenue of $722.38 million. Vera Bradley VRA is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.57 per share on revenue of $153.18 million. The Men's Wearhouse MW is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.05 per share on revenue of $610.00 million. Orexigen Therapeutics OREX is expected to post a Q4 loss at $0.44 per share on revenue of $910.00 thousand. Coldwater Creek CWTR is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.79 per share on revenue of $218.76 million. Sigma Designs SIGM is expected to post a Q4 loss at $0.25 per share on revenue of $43.43 million. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.41%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.73%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.36% and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.09%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.61%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.99% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.47%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.46% and India's Sensex dropped 1.03%. Crude-oil futures gained 0.36% to trade at $92.87.