Wall Street Poised for Another Down Day

Stock Futures Point Lower on Wachovia Warning, Ahead of Economic Data; Investors Stay on Edge

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks headed to a lower open Friday after Wachovia Corp. said it expects to increase quarterly loan losses, raising investor concern about the continuing credit crisis.
The nation's fourth-largest bank said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that credit market volatility could cause a $1.1 billion write-down for October alone. The problem stems from its asset-backed securities, such as collateralized debt obligations, that have lost value on sinking investor demand.
Investors were also worried after Qualcomm Inc., the nation's second-biggest maker of chips that run mobile phones, predicted late Thursday after the closing bell that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings nearly doubled. But, heightened competition and legal troubles will cause 2008 results to fall 4 percent to 7 percent below Wall Street projections.
The market was also on edge after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that policy makers expect the economy to "slow noticeably" this quarter. His comments caused major indexes to fall -- contributing to a slide this week on concerns about continuing credit woes, a weakening dollar and rising oil prices.
Dow Jones industrial futures fell 87, or 0.66 percent, to 13,175. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 11.30, or 0.77 percent, to 1,464.20, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 16.00, or 0.76 percent, to 2,089.50.
Investors are waiting for data on the September trade balance and October import prices as well as the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey for November.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its monthly report on international trade in goods and services, based on documents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at 8:30 am EST.
The preliminary Reuters/University of Michigan monthly index of consumer sentiment will be released Friday at 10 a.m. EST. Economists expect consumer sentiment will inch downward amid persistent worries about the housing recession and high energy prices.
Key among their worries is the escalating prices of oil, which has been trading just off of $100 a barrel. Light, sweet crude fell 40 cents to $94.06 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In corporate news, wireless high-speed Internet provider Clearwire Corp. and Sprint Nextel Corp. announced before the bell they scrapped an agreement to jointly build a nationwide WiFi network. Clearwire also reported its third-quarter loss widened more than expected.
Walt Disney & Co. shares were also in focus after the entertainment company said late Thursday fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 12 percent, driven by sports network ESPN and turnout at its U.S. theme parks. However, executives remain concerned about a Hollywood writers strike that began this week.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 1.19 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.08 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.66 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.50 percent, and France's CAC-40 shed 0.96 percent.