U.S. stock futures lower before CPI report; H-P rises - MarketWatch

U.S. stock futures lower before CPI report; H-P rises - MarketWatch

But other banks, notably ING (ING:

ING) , haven't been stung as badly by the credit crunch, with the Dutch lender and insurer climbing 2.5% in Amsterdam after reporting an 18% profit rise.

Elsewhere, Hewlett Packard (HPQ:

HPQ) rose 4% in pre-open trade as the computer maker unveiled a 38% fiscal first-quarter profit rise and forecast better current quarter earnings than analysts had forecast.

"We view upside/downside as attractive given valuation and our confidence (in) the company's ability to meet EPS targets," said Daniel Renouard, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co.

Mapping-device maker Garmin (GRMN:

GRMN) rallied 7.9% in pre-open deals after reporting that fourth-quarter earnings rose to $307 million from $180 million.

NutriSystem (NTRI:

NTRI) dropped 22.5% as the weight-loss product company reported a 46.5% fourth-quarter profit fall.

The Nikkei 225 closed with big losses in Tokyo, down 3.2%. Europe stocks also fell, with the FTSE 100 losing 1.9% in mid-day trade.