Wall Street futures signal weaker start for stocks

September 7, 2010 11:48 AM EDT

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2 to 0.7 percent, pointing to a weaker start on Wall Street on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama, scrambling to spur job creation, proposed a six-year plan on Monday to rebuild U.S. infrastructure with an initial $50 billion investment and prepared new business tax cuts.

Silicon Valley technology giant Oracle Corp has hired Mark Hurd, the former chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co who resigned amid a scandal, as president.

The U.S. Justice department is looking into Google Inc's takeover of airline ticketing software firm ITA Software Inc, to determine whether the deal would exert too much influence on the online travel industry, the Wall Street Journal said.

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China wants to reduce tensions with the United States through quiet talk, not shouting matches, a top diplomat told White House advisers on Tuesday, aiming to pave the way for a visit by President Hu Jintao early next year.

American International Group Inc is leaning toward a new sale of its Taiwan unit, according to one of the original buyers, opening the way for a number of Taiwanese banks who have expressed interest.

Resource-related stocks will be in focus, with crude oil extending losses as the dollar strengthened and Tropical Storm Hermine made landfall near the Mexico-Texas border with no signs of disruption to crude or refining output.

The U.S. market was closed on Monday for a holiday. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> shot up 127.83 points, or 1.24 percent, to 10,447.93, marking a move back into the black for the year. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 14.41 points, or 1.32 percent, to 1,104.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 33.74 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,233.75.

The S&P 500 closed above 1,100 for the first time since August 10. Momentum measures, including the moving average convergence-divergence, indicated the benchmark was poised for more gains.

Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> fell 0.8 percent on Tuesday, dented by profit-taking after four days of hefty gains and as the yen's strength showed little sign of abating.

European shares fell 0.5 percent on Tuesday, with banks down after a news report renewed jitters about the health of the sector, though the market got some support from drugmakers as investors bought defensive stocks.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Erica Billingham)