Really surprising! The debt deal will almost certainly go through today, yet futures are DOWN. I don't know anyone who wasn't predicting a strong week or two rally once the deal was inked. Maybe they'll still be right - but that's no longer how it's looking.
Aug. 2, 2011, 7:26 a.m. EDT
U.S. stock futures decline on economy fears
Debt deal passes House vote; Pfizer earnings in focus
By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures pointed to another day of losses Tuesday as worries about stumbling growth more than offset any relief that the House of Representatives had approved a bill to increase the debt limit.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/1785993 DJ1U -0.79% dropped 39 points to 12,001 and those on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index /quotes/zigman/1277190 SP1U -1.19% slipped 5 points to 1,274.70.
Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/zigman/876546 ND1U -1.05% fell 8.50 points to 2,337.50.
The losses for futures came after the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped for the seventh straight session on Monday. The index closed down around 11 points, after triple-digit swings in both directions.
The House of Representatives late Monday voted to approve a bill to raise the debt limit and cut spending. The bill will face a further vote in the Senate Tuesday, but is expected to pass before being signed by President Barack Obama.
While the bill will remove the threat of imminent default, investors are growing increasingly worried about a stream of weak economic data, including the dramatic downward revision of first-quarter growth estimates last week and Monday’s disappointing manufacturing data. Many economists also still expect America’s triple-A credit rating to be downgraded, even if the debt deal passes its final hurdle.
Full story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-decline-on-economy-fears-2011-08-02?dist=beforebell
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