Indications: U.S. stock futures gain; AIG outlines plans

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By Polya Lesova and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures erased early losses Thursday, turning modestly higher after data on U.S. economic growth and the labor market proved better than anticipated.

Markets sanguine about European sovereign woes

Anglo Irish Bank will need more money, and Spain's credit ratings have been downgraded. Never mind, say the markets. The euro has risen and sovereign spreads narrowed, says Dow Jones Newswires' David Cottle.

Separate reports had U.S. economic growth revised up to 1.7% for the second quarter and initial jobless claims falling by 16,000 to 453,000 last week.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\z10 (DJZ10 10,715, -65.00, -0.60%)  gained 28 points to 10,808.

S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\z10 (SPZ10 1,137, -3.60, -0.32%)  rose 2.80 points to 1,143.7, and Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\z10 (NDZ10 1,991, -18.00, -0.90%)  added 6 points to 2,015.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow industrials /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 10,778, -57.60, -0.53%)  falling 0.2%. The Dow, however, is still on track to register its best September performance since 1939, according to data from Dow Jones Indexes.

At 9:45 a.m. Eastern, the September Chicago purchasing managers index will be released. It will come a day ahead of the closely watched Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index.

After the market opens, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify on financial regulatory reform in Washington.

Investors also digested a barrage of news from Europe. Ireland detailed the soaring cost of bailing out its troubled banking sector, and Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Spain’s credit rating, a much-awaited move. See story on Spain’s debt-rating cut.

On the positive side, Germany said the number of its unemployed declined in September.

Most Asian markets finished lower overnight; in Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average dropped 2%. See Asia Markets report.

In Europe, stock markets also posted losses, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 260.15, -0.87, -0.33%)  falling 0.2% in afternoon trading. See Europe Markets report.

”We have seen some fairly good numbers today from the euro zone â€" Germany saw the unemployment rate decline,” said Mads Koefoed, a strategist at Saxo Bank. “These numbers suggest that we still have some sort of recovery going on in Europe.”

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However, “the problem for stocks has been that the last few days have been all about the sovereign debt concerns,” Koefoed said.

Ireland and Spain were once again in the spotlight Thursday.

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Indications: U.S. stock futures fall; AIG outlines plans

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By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures edged lower Thursday, tracking losses in European equities, while American International Group Inc. mapped out its plan to repay all its obligations to U.S. taxpayers.

Investors also digested a barrage of news from Europe. Ireland detailed the soaring cost of bailing out its troubled banking sector, and Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Spain’s credit rating. On the positive side, Germany said the number of its unemployed declined in September.

Markets sanguine about European sovereign woes

Anglo Irish Bank will need more money, and Spain's credit ratings have been downgraded. Never mind, say the markets. The euro has risen and sovereign spreads narrowed, says Dow Jones Newswires' David Cottle.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\z10 (DJZ10 10,810, +30.00, +0.28%)  fell 18 points to 10,762.

S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\z10 (SPZ10 1,144, +3.10, +0.27%)  dropped 2.40 points to 1,138.50, and Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\z10 (NDZ10 2,015, +6.25, +0.31%)  slipped 3.75 points to 2,005.20.

U.S. stocks ended slightly lower Wednesday, with the blue-chip Dow index /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 10,835, -22.86, -0.21%)  falling 0.2%. The Dow, however, is still on track for its best September performance since 1939, according to data from Dow Jones Indexes.

Thursday’s economic calendar is a busy one. Data on weekly jobless claims and the third release of second-quarter gross domestic product are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.

The highlight is likely to come at 9:45 a.m., when the September Chicago purchasing managers index will be released. It will come a day ahead of the closely watched Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index.

After the market opens, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to testify on financial regulatory reform in Washington.

Most Asian markets finished lower overnight; in Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average dropped 2%. See Asia Markets report.

In Europe, stock markets also posted losses, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 261.58, +0.56, +0.21%)  falling 0.2% in afternoon trading. See Europe Markets report.

”We have seen some fairly good numbers today from the euro zone â€" Germany saw the unemployment rate decline,” said Mads Koefoed, a strategist at Saxo Bank. “These numbers suggest that we still have some sort of recovery going on in Europe.”

TODAY'S TOP MARKET STORIES

S&P 500 (1 YEAR)

• Market Snapshot: U.S. stocks in focus • Today's biggest advancing, declining stocks • Sign up for free, breaking-news email alerts

Earnings Watch | Earnings, updates, warnings

THE MARKET BY SECTOR | Industries • Tech Stocks | Energy Stocks | Retail Stocks • Financials | Airline Stocks | Pharma and Biotech

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/conga/story/misc/markets.html 84614

However, “the problem for stocks has been that the last few days have been all about the sovereign debt concerns,” Koefoed said.

Ireland and Spain were once again in the spotlight Thursday.

The Central Bank of Ireland outlined the costs of rescuing its troubled banking sector. It estimated that the total capital required for nationalized Anglo Irish Bank amounts to 29.3 billion euros ($39.8 billion). The Irish government has already injected €26 billion in the bank. Under a stress-case scenario, however, an additional €5 billion of capital could be required.

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NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Thursday, Sep 30, 2010 :

STOCKS TRADING ON NYSE Arca AT A PRICE 15% OR MORE AWAY FROM
THE PREVIOUS TRADE DAY'S CONSOLIDATED CLOSE PRICE (AS OF 08:30:00 ET)

Stock Wednesday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
HYC $4.24 $6.14 44.8% 409,603

10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS ON NYSE ARCA AS OF 08:30:00 ET

BASED ON DOLLARS TRADED: | BASED ON SHARES TRADED:
Stock $ Volume Price PctChg | Stock Share Vol Price PctChg
SPY $43,597,580 $114.29 ( 0.1%) | AIB 1,132,284 $1.27 (21.6%)
QQQQ $7,754,672 $49.30 0.0% | C 918,060 $3.93 0.0%
GLD $6,296,493 $128.32 0.3% | YRCW 677,237 $0.26 (17.6%)
AIG $6,070,430 $39.81 6.2% | HYC 409,603 $6.14 44.8%
BHP $5,608,010 $76.65 0.0% | SPY 381,293 $114.29 ( 0.1%)
BP $3,815,674 $40.61 1.5% | NOK 288,033 $10.08 2.7%
C $3,614,414 $3.93 0.0% | QQQQ 157,248 $49.30 0.0%
DB $3,413,346 $55.07 3.5% | AIG 155,684 $39.81 6.2%
NOK $2,917,002 $10.08 2.7% | BAC 112,717 $13.16 0.4%
HYC $2,473,827 $6.14 44.8% | FAZ 106,827 $13.51 1.0%

Price changes may be affected by symbol splits and dividends.

Consolidated close price is the last print (excluding prints with trade
conditions) prior to 4PM ET.

This information is also updated on our web page every morning at 8:35ET:
http://www.tradearca.com/data/volume/daily_update.asp

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