U.S. Market Set for Mixed Open Wednesday

U.S. futures were mixed Wednesday morning with the Nasdaq 100 gaining 2.5 points to 2,052.75, the Dow trading down 18 points to 13,310 and the S&P 500 lower by 3 points to 1,463.50. Morgan Stanley (MS) swung to a greater-than-expected loss of $3.61/share on $9.4 billion in writedowns, well above its previously expected writedown of $3.7 billion, sending its shares lower by 0.5% in pre-market action (full story). Morgan also announced a $5 billion cash infusion from China Investment Corp., keeping its shares steady in pre-market trading despite its heavy losses.

The Nikkei continued its losing streak, shedding an additional 1.17% Wednesday; Shanghai and Hong Kong bounced back, gaining 2.18% and 1.11% respectively (full story). European markets were lower in intraday trading Wednesday with the FTSE down 0.34% and the CAC lower by 0.49% (full story).

The Fed’s newly proposed rules Tuesday to severely reduce some of the high-risk mortgages responsible for recent mortgage-market turmoil came under fire from Democrats who said the measures were ‘too little, too late’. (full story).

General Mills (GIS) reported a 1.3% increase in net income in its latest quarter on a 7% increase in sales, slightly topping consensus analyst estimates. The company also raised its sales outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year to mid-single digit growth (full story).

Oil was up slightly to $90.40/bbl while gold was off 0.43% to $803.90. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell to 4.09% as notes gained 0-07½ to 101-08. On the economic front, weekly crude inventories are due out at 10:30 AM ET. After the closing bell, Nike (NKE), Oracle (ORCL), 3Com (COMS) and Accenture (ACN) report earnings.

Sources: Seeking Alpha
Additional Reading: Wall Street Breakfast ● Europe Inches Down Wednesday ● Asia Wednesday: Hong Kong, China Gain; Japan Sees Red

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