US stock futures point to lower open
The U.S. stock market is poised for a lower open Wednesday following a modest recovery the day before.
KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 25 points to 15,313 about 45 minutes before the U.S. stock market opened on Wednesday. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures were down five points to 1,738. Nasdaq futures slipped eight points to 3,444.
JOB GROWTH: A private survey on Wednesday showed that U.S. businesses added jobs at a steady but modest pace in January, a sign that hiring has rebounded after a disappointing figure in December. Payroll processor ADP said companies added 175,000 jobs last month. That's down from 227,000 in December, which was revised lower. But it was much better than the government's official figure of just 74,000 new jobs in December. The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and often diverge from the government's more comprehensive report.
EUROPE SLUGGISH: European stocks were mixed in afternoon trading after data showed disappointing retail sales across the 18-country eurozone in the crucial shopping month of December. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.2 percent and the CAC-40 in France was down 0.2 percent. Germany's DAX fell 0.4 percent.
ASIA MARKETS CLOSE: Markets in Mainland China remain closed for the Lunar New Year holiday until Friday. But the region's second-biggest market, Hong Kong, stayed lower. The Hang Seng slipped 0.6 percent and stocks in Taiwan also fell. Japan's market recovered slightly as the Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 percent. It remains down 13 percent for the year. Elsewhere in Asia, stock indexes rose in New Zealand, Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Thailand. They fell in Australia.
U.S. EARNINGS: Time Warner said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income dropped 12 percent, as investments in programing and other costs offset revenue growth. Still, the media and entertainment company's adjusted profit beat Wall Street predictions. Its shares edged up 1 percent in premarket trading.
