Indications: U.S. futures falter after first round of data

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By Simon Kennedy and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures slid Wednesday after a regional report on manufacturing threw cold water on thoughts of a sector rebound, while the dollar rallied against the yen after Japan intervened in currency markets.

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Already mildly lower, stock futures extended their losses after the New York Federal Reserve Bank reported its Empire State Manufacturing Index declined to 4.1 in September from 7.1 in August.

Separately, the government said U.S. import prices climbed 0.6% in August, while export prices jumped 0.8%.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37 points to 10,493, while those on the S&P 500 index dropped 4.3 points to 1,111.50. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 lost 5 points to 1,917.5.

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower Tuesday after a four-session advance, as investors parsed the latest U.S. retail-sales figures and some disappointing data from Germany. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 10,565, +38.56, +0.37%)  closed down about 18 points. The Nasdaq /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,296, +6.02, +0.26%) , though, eked out a gain, extending its winning streak to a fifth day.

“We believe that the market was hoping for more of an announcement from President Obama on the fiscal side for the rally to get more momentum,” said David Deddouche, an analyst with Societe Generale.

“A failure to break the current levels in the coming days would push us back in range trading, so we advise to remain very flexible on the macro view and trade tactically,” he added in a note to clients.

The dollar was up 3.1% against the Japanese currency at 85.61 yen Wednesday after Japanese authorities publicly intervened in currency markets for the first time since 2004.

The intervention was aimed at stemming the rise of the yen, which had earlier hit its highest level in more than 15 years and has been an increasing concern for exporters in the country.

The Finance Ministry and Bank of Japan were continuing to intervene in markets intermittently, according to reports Wednesday. See full story on Japan’s currency intervention.

The dollar was little changed against other currencies, with the euro falling 0.1% to $1.2984.

Figures on August U.S. industrial production are due at 9:15 a.m. Eastern.

Among companies in focus, Boeing Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!ba/quotes/nls/ba (BA 62.68, -0.08, -0.13%)  said it expected the World Trade Organization to rule Wednesday in a case the European Union brought in 2006, alleging that the U.S. government was subsidizing the Chicago-based aerospace giant.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the WTO was likely to rule that Boeing received improper subsidies. That could prompt talks between Boeing and the Airbus unit of France’s European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. to settle the subsidies matter, the report added.

Shares in AngloGold Ashanti /quotes/comstock/13*!au/quotes/nls/au (AU 44.78, -1.94, -4.15%)  fell in premarket trading after the company late Tuesday announced plans for a simultaneous offering of stock and bonds.

Savient Pharmaceuticals /quotes/comstock/15*!svnt/quotes/nls/svnt (SVNT 18.83, +4.07, +27.57%) was another big mover; its shares jumped after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug Krystexxa for the treatment of gout in adults.

In international markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Average surged 2.3% after the intervention in currency markets, while most major European indexes were lower, with the French CAC 40 dropping 0.4%.

Simon Kennedy is the City correspondent for MarketWatch in London. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.

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