US stock futures down after FedEx profit warning

NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. stock market futures slipped Wednesday after FedEx Corp. cut its profit outlook for the quarter ended last week, but regained some ground after the Labor Department said U.S. companies got more productivity from their workers this spring than originally estimated.

FedEx said the weak global economy is hitting its revenue from its express unit, which ships about 3.5 million priority packages per day. That unit handles a large amount of export business from Asia, and the slowdown reflects lower spending in both the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, costs are rising, especially for fuel. FedEx shares fell about 3 percent premarket trading.

Tempering losses from worries on the economy was a report that said U.S. workers' productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the April-June quarter, up from an initial estimate of a 1.6 percent gain. Labor costs rose at an annual rate of 1.5 percent, slightly lower than the 1.7 percent initially estimated.

The government said the economy grew at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the April-June quarter, up slightly from an initial estimate of 1.5 percent.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 10 at 13,040. Standard & Poor's 500 futures were off 1.6 at 1,404.40. Nasdaq 100 futures gave up 6 at 2,768.50.

Also weighing on early trading was concern about the latest move aimed at stemming Europe's debt crisis.

European Central bank President Mario Draghi is expected to reveal details Thursday of a new bond-buying program aimed at cutting borrowing costs for Spain and Italy. Without some way to reduce the interest rates on the bonds they sell, the two nations could be pushed into asking for a bailout, following in line behind Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Some say expectations for the plan are too high, and note Europe's economy continues to contract, according to some indicators released Wednesday.

Britain's FTSE 100 is down 0.11 percent. Germany's DAX added 0.62 percent. France's CAC-40 added 0.56 percent.

Earlier, major Asian indexes closed lower, following weaker-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data released Tuesday, days after Chinese data showed a slowdown in that country. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.5 percent and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1.7 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.6 percent.

In addition to FedEx, U.S. stocks to watch include Facebook Inc., whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg tried to buoy the flailing stock by announcing he will not sell any shares for a year, while the company announced a major share buyback. Shares gained about 3 percent ahead of the market opening. And Bloomin' Brands Inc., the recently public owner of Outback Steakhouses, which posted a 25-percent jump in second-quarter profit.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-stock-futures-down-fedex-profit-warning-124854692--business.html

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