Wall Street Persists With Tentative Mood

(RTTNews) - Wall Street is once again displaying caution, as indicated by the U.S. Index futures, which are pointing to a modestly lower opening on Wednesday. Asian stocks closed lower across the board, while the European markets are also seeing weakness amid the release of some mixed economic data and earnings. With little economic cues to digest, the domestic markets may yet again see some lackluster sentiment, given the uncertain economic and monetary policy backdrop.

The Dow futures are slipping 30 points, the S&P 500 Index futures are receding 3.30 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving down 8 points.

U.S. Stocks had another lackluster session on Tuesday, ending mostly lower for the session amid a lack of any major domestic catalysts to drive trading.

On the economic front, Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank President Sandra Pianalto is due to speak to the Global Interdependence Center women's conference in Philadelphia at 8:45 am ET.

The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release the weekly inventory report for the week ended November 8th at 10:30 am ET. The Treasury will unveil its monthly budgetary statement at 2 pm ET. Additionally, the Treasury is scheduled to release the results of its auction of 10-year notes.

In corporate news, SINA (SINA) reported third quarter non-GAAP earnings of 42 cents per share compared to 17 cents per share last year. Net revenues climbed to $468.1 million from $390.2 million in the year-ago period. For the fourth quarter, the company expects non-GAAP revenues of $190 million to $194 million. The results exceeded estimates and the guidance was positive.

MBIA (MBI) reported third quarter earnings of 67 cents per share, higher than 4 cents per share in the year-ago period. Total revenues climbed to $420 million compared to the year-ago quarter's $281 million.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) reported a third quarter loss of $4.45 per share, wider than the net loss of $4.30 per share in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenues rose slightly to $1.252 billion. The results trailed expectations.

Diodes (DIOD) reported third quarter non-GAAP earnings of 33 cents per share, up from 20 cents per share in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 4.7 percent to $224.5 million. For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenues of $205 million to $220 million. The results trailed expectations and the guidance was also weak.

Parkway (PKY) announced a 25 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.1875 per share. Office Depot (ODP) announced the appointment of Roland Smith as its Chairman and CEO, effective immediately.

Cisco Systems (CSCO), NetApp (NTAP) and Netease.com (NTES) are due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading on Wednesday.

The major Asian markets declined across the board amid risk aversion, as stimulus and growth fears engulfed markets. Most major averages in the region ended down over 1 percent each.

Japan's Nikkei 225 average languished below the unchanged line for the better part of the session before closing down 21.52 points or 0.15 percent at 14,567. Australia's All Ordinaries ended 69.30 points or 1.29 percent lower at 5,318. Energy, financial, material and utility stocks were among the worst decliners of the session. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 22,464, down 437.58 points or 1.91 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite lost 38.83 points or 1.83 percent before closing at 2,088.

On the economic front, a report released by Westpac and Melbourne Institute showed that consumer confidence rose 1.9 percent month-over-month in October following the 4.7 percent drop in September.

The Bank of Japan reported that its measure of corporate goods prices edged down 0.1 percent month-over-month in October, while economists expected a 0.2 percent drop. Annually, prices were up 2.5 percent, in line with estimates. A Cabinet Office reported that core machine orders fell 2.1 percent month-over-month in September, steeper than the 1.8 percent drop forecast by economists.

European stocks also opened lower and have been seeing weakness in early trading.

In corporate news, GDF Suez reported a decline in its profits for the nine month period, while the company maintained its full year guidance. German utility E.ON also reported lower nine-month profits, although the decline was not as steep as expected. The company narrowed its guidance for the full year.

On the economic front, data released by the U.K. Office for National Statistics showed that U.K. Claimant count fell by 41,700 month-over-month in October, while economists expected a drop of a smaller drop of 30,000. The unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent in the July to September period compared to the 7.8 percent rate in the three months ended June. The jobless rate was in line with expectations.

Eurostat reported that eurozone industrial output fell 0.5 percent month-over-month in September, reversing the 1 percent increase in August. Economists expected a 0.3 percent drop for the month.