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To: Bocor who wrote (9934)	7/12/2012 8:56:18 AM
From: Oblivious	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13719

US Stock Futures Tumble As Global Slowdown Concerns Intensify Last update: 7/12/2012 8:53:04 AM --Stock futures fall on worries of global slowdown --Europe, Asia decline after minutes show no sign of imminent Fed move By Matt Jarzemsky and Tomi Kilgore NEW YORK--U.S. stock futures followed overseas markets lower as concerns intensified over a global economic slowdown with little immediate help from central banks in sight. Less than an hour before Thursday's opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 83 points, or 0.7%, to 12453. The Dow fell 48.59 points, or 0.38%, on Wednesday to stretch its losing streak to five sessions, the longest seen since May 18. Standard & Poor' 500-stock index futures lost 11 points, or 0.8%, to 1326 and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 17 points, or 0.7%, to 2545. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell. Investors shrugged off a Labor Department report that the number of U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits fell more than economists expected to the lowest level in more than four years last week. The drop offers hope that the labor market might be slowly improving but appeared largely due to seasonal factors. Meanwhile, the cost of goods imported into the U.S. slid 2.7% in June, the Labor Department reported separately, the largest decline in more than three years in June. The drop, which compared with economists' expectations for a 1.1% decrease, reflected a continued reduction in oil prices. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 shed 0.9%. Fears of a global economic slowdown intensified after the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy setting meeting, released after European markets had closed on Wednesday, showed another round of stimulus measures won't be implemented soon. Investors also are concerned that data due Friday will show a further slowing of China's economy. On the bright side, industrial production in the euro zone increased 0.6% in May, beating expectations of a 0.2% decline. Asian markets were also mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average losing 1.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng falling 2%. China's Shanghai Composite, however, rose 0.5%. South Korea's central bank surprised investors by cutting its lending rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3%. The cut was the first easing move by the Bank of Korea in more than three years. Crude-oil futures slid 1.4% to $84.65 a barrel, while gold futures gave up 1% to $1,559.90 an ounce. The U.S. dollar rose against the euro, hitting a two-year high in intraday trading, but declined against the yen. In corporate news, shares of Supervalu tumbled 29% after the grocery-store operator said it was suspending its dividend, withdrawing its fiscal 2013 outlook and lowering prices more aggressively to cope with competition. The company said it also initiated a review of alternatives to enhance shareholder value and reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that missed estimates. Merck rallied 3.7% after the blue chip pharmaceutical company said positive results from Phase 3 study of its treatment of osteoporosis prompted a data monitoring committee to recommend the study be closed early. Immunogen slid 7.3% after the developer of anticancer therapies announced plans for a public offering of common stock. Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com and Tomi Kilgore at tomi.kilgore@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 12, 2012 08:53 ET (12:53 GMT)