Dow futures declined due to the weaker-than-forecast jobless claims report as well as the mixed results from Wal-Mart. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 39 points to 12,505. The S&P 500 future fell 2.3 points to 1,351. The Nasdaq 100 futures went up 0.25 point to 2,530.
The drops sent the Dow and the Nasdaq back to their June levels. The Nasdaq is at present at correction territory. S&P 500 is trading at its lowest level since July and is 37 points away of a correction. Investors are worried about the fiscal cliff as well as growing tensions in the Middle East. They are also worried about the corporate earnings reports that helped brought stocks down.
New claims for unemployment benefits increased last week to 439,000. This was the highest level since April of 2011. The number was way above the 361,000 the previous week. Claims were estimated to go up to 375,000 from the previously reported 355,000. The Labor Department said that Hurricane Sandy distorted the claims number but the level of the distortion remained unclear.
The New York Federal Reserve’s regional manufacturing gauge increased -5.22 in November from -6.16 in October. Reading over zero point is expansion while below zero is contraction. According to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, the manufacturing sector in the mid-Atlantic region will expand at a slower pace in November than the previous month.
Investors still have their eyes on what’s happening in the Eurozone. The region’s economy contracted at a quarter-to-quarter rate of 0.1 percent in the third quarter. It was the region’s second contraction in a row and it means that the zone goes into its second recession since 2009.
