Stock futures signal dip; Nike eyed

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | March 18 2010 6:16 AM

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.07 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.12 percent.

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Nike Inc will be in focus after the company posted a return to sales and profit growth late on Wednesday and forecast higher expected orders around the world after a year of declines, sending its shares up more than 3 percent in extended trading. Nike shares traded in Frankfurt were up 5.3 percent.

Apparel brand Guess Inc's fourth-quarter results topped estimates, as fewer discounts helped margins during the holiday quarter, and demand in Europe rose.

Google Inc is working with Intel Corp and Sony Corp <6758.T> to develop a new class of Internet-enabled televisions and set top boxes, according to a media report.

Google's Nexus One smartphone will soon be available to subscribers of Sprint Nextel Corp , the second U.S. wireless service provider to announce an agreement to support the touchscreen phone.

A consortium led by Blackstone Group has agreed to invest about $600 million in a Chinese agricultural company ahead of its planned Hong Kong listing, sources with knowledge of the deal said on Wednesday.

Japanese tax authorities have accused IBM's Japan unit of failing to report more than $4.4 billion in income, and the unit may be asked to pay more than $300 million in back and additional taxes, the Asahi newspaper said.

Japan's Nikkei average fell 1 percent on Thursday, off a two-month high hit the previous day, while European stocks inched lower in morning trade, retreating from a 17-month closing high reached in the previous session, as renewed concerns over Greece's debt woes rattled investors.

Stocks gained on Wednesday, pushing the Dow to a 17-month high, after a benign February inflation reading supported the Federal Reserve's renewed pledge of low interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 47.69 points, or 0.45 percent, to end at 10,733.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 6.75 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,166.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 11.08 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,389.09.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson, editing by Will Waterman)