U.S. stock-index futures fell, after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped from a record, as China’s finance minister damped speculation his government will boost stimulus and as investors awaited data on home sales.
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) lost 1.8 percent in early New York trading after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. lowered its rating on the Web-portal company to the equivalent of a hold. Walgreen Co. declined 1.2 percent after Barclays Plc cut its rating on the largest U.S. pharmacy chain.
Futures on the S&P 500 (SPX) expiring in December dropped 0.5 percent to 1,994.5 at 9:55 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge reached an all-time high of 2,011.36 on Sept. 18 after the Federal Reserve said it will wait to raise interest rates until the
economy can withstand higher borrowing rates. Dow Jones Industrial Average contracts slid 49 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,163 today.
China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said his government won’t make any major policy adjustments in response to changes in individual economic indicators, even as he said growth faces downward pressure. His comments quelled speculation that weaker economic data will spur further stimulus in the world’s second-biggest economy.
A report at 10 a.m. from the National Association of Realtors in Washington may show that purchases of previously owned homes rose to a 5.2 million annualized pace in August from 5.15 million in July, according to economists’ estimates compiled in a Bloomberg survey.
Yahoo declined 1.8 percent to $40.18 in early trading. Sanford Bernstein lowered its rating on the Sunnyvale, California-based company to market perform from outperform.
Walgreen fell 1.2 percent to $62.10. Barclays cut its recommendation on the Deerfield, Illinois-based company to equal weight from overweight.
Both rating changes are similar to a shift to hold from buy.
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