Jitters from Intel slam U.S. stock futures, dollar - MarketWatch

Premarket - MarketWatch 7am

ASIA MARKETS
Wave of negative sentiment sweep 'fearful' Asia
Nikkei down 3.4%, Hang Seng 5.4%; scores of blue-chips below 52-week lows
Blue chips such as Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Hong Kong's HSBC Holdings and India's Infosys Technologies fell below their 52-week lows as investors dumped shares across the board.
In the currency markets, risk-averse investors reversed their carry trades, driving the U.S. dollar below the 107 yen level for the first time in more than two years.
Hong Kong and other markets:
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index shed 5.4%, or 1,386.93 points, to finish at 24,450.85, registering its third biggest single-day point fall and extending its negative streak into the fifth straight session. The index of China-related shares, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, slumped 6.6% to 14,016.12.
Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.5% at 5,809.70, New Zealand's NZX 50 index gave up 1.5% to 3,752.39, South Korea's Kospi slid 2.4% to 1,704.97 and China's Shanghai Composite skidded 2.8% to 5,290.61. India's Sensex tumbled 3.3% to 19,589.11 by late afternoon.

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a second straight drop on Wednesday, with Intel's fourth-quarter profit report and first-quarter outlook heightening fears that the technology sector is headed for a sharp downturn.

S&P 500 futures fell 11.2 points to 1,376.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 27.5 points to 1,884.50. Dow industrial futures fell 116 points.

A dismal report on retail sales in December and turmoil on Wall Street combined to send U.S. stocks sharply lower on Tuesday, with the Dow industrials losing 277 points, the S&P 500 down 35 points and the Nasdaq Composite falling 60 points.



Crude-oil futures fell $1.30 to $90.43 a barrel.
The FTSE 100 dropped 1% in London, and the Nikkei 225 - hurt by the surging yen - fell over 3% in Tokyo