U.S. stock futures were mixed early this morning, indicating a possibly weak start on Wall Street for the last day of the first quarter, despite Nasdaq futures being slightly positive. If sentiment remains the same, it seems the last day would end the same way the quarter will, down. Meanwhile, investors investor look to a plan from President Bush aimed at overhauling regulation on Wall Street.U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday after some weak economic data and a warning from J.C. Penney gave bears back control. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 86 points, or 0.7%, the S&P 500 lost 10 points, or 0.79%, and the Nasdaq composite declined 19 points or 0.86%.
For the week, the Dow industrials fell 1.2%, but for the quarter so far it lost 7.9%. While the S&P 500 declined the same as the Dow for the week - 1.2%, it droped 10.4% for the quarter so far. Last, the Nasdaq Composite actually managed a 0.1% advance for the week, but leads the decline in the quarter so far with a 14.8% tumble. With the housing market correction, the subprime mess and credit crunch, along with the economic concerns investors are facing, it is no wonder the quarter has fared as it had.
This week is full of economic releases, including the monthly employment report that is due Friday, but today only the Chicago-area manufacturing poll for March is scheduled to be reported at 9:45 a.m. EDT. The index is actually expected to increase somewhat.
Still, what many will be eying today is the announcement by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at 10:00 a.m. EDT. It is expected the secretary will announce the the biggest overhaul of Wall Street's regulatory structure since the Great Depression that aims to help prevent the kind of risky investments that led to the near-collapse of Bear Stearns.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell to near $105 a barrel Monday as supply concerns eased.
Also, in global trade, Asian stocks declined, while European stocks are recovering from earlier lows despite an inflation report indicating European inflation accelerated to 3.5% -- the fastest pace in almost 16 years -- making it harder for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates to help alleviate the global credit squeeze. With reports also indicating consumer and business confidence declined in March, inaction by the ECB cannot exude confidence.
In corporate news, Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) filed a suit Monday against major Japanese trading company Marubeni, demanding $350 million in damages in a case of alleged fraud.
In major deal news, Pernod Ricard SA , the French liquor group, outbid three other companies to buy Sweden's state-owned Vin & Sprit, the maker of Absolut vodka, for $8.89 billion.
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