US Stock Futures Signal Lower Open Ahead Of Retail Sales Report, Producer Price Index

By Bhaskar Prasad | January 15 2013 4:12 AM

The U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open Tuesday ahead of the Department of Commerce's retail sales report and the Department of Labor's Producer Price Index.

REUTERS

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Aug. 8, 2011.

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The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.10 percent, the futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were down 0.18 percent and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index were down 0.14 percent.

Investors are likely to focus on the December retail sales report, a foremost indicator of consumer spending which accounts for the majority of overall economic activity, due at 8:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Economists predict that the report, measuring a change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level, will show a 0.2 percent increase in December against a 0.3 percent rise in November.

Meanwhile, the core retail sales, which measure the change in the total value of sales at the retail level in the U.S., excluding automobiles, are expected to grow 0.2 percent in December, compared to the zero percent change in November.

Investors are also expected to focus on the Producer Price Index, which measures the change in the price of goods sold by manufacturers. The index, a leading indicator of consumer price inflation, is expected to fall 0.1 percent in December after a 0.8 percent decrease in November.

On Monday, the U.S. stocks were mixed with investors maintaining caution focusing upon the technology sector as shares of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 3.6 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14 percent, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.09 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.26 percent.

Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday as investors remained careful waiting for the companies in the U.S. to announce their quarterly results to give more clarity on the economic growth. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Composite fell 54.52 points, India’s Sensex gained 14.83 points, Japan’s Nikkei advanced 77.51 points and South Korea’s Kospi was down 23.30 points.

European stocks fell Tuesday tracking the global cues. London's FTSE 100 was down 4.69 points, Germany's DAX 30 fell 20.68 points and France's CAC 40 declined 10.31 points.