U.S. stock futures declined Thursday, ready to kick off the fourth quarter on a lower note ahead of a barrage of economic data as well as continued mergers-and-acquisitions activity. Meanwhile, as the IMF raised its projections, investors also waited to hear a testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.The global economy is recovering faster than expected, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday. According to the twice-yearly World Economic Outlook published Thursday, the world is poised to grow by 3.1 percent in 2010, up from the previous estimate of 2.5 percent. But the IMF cautioned governments should be careful to not withdraw their stimulus measures prematurely.
Economic data due out today:
- At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the Labor Department will report on August personal income and spending. Economists forecast an increase of 0.1% in income and an increase of 1.1% in spending for August, according Briefing.com.
- At the same time, weekly initial jobless claims are also due out and are expected to have edged up by 5,000.
- At 10:00 a.m., the Institute for Supply Management's will release its survey of nationwide manufacturing activity for September, which is expected to have risen to 54 from 52.9 in August.
- At the same time, August pending home sales and construction spending will be reported. Home sales is expected to have risen 1% in August, while construction spending is forecast to have slipped 0.1%.
- Throughout the day, car manufacturers will also report their Septmber auto and truck sales.
Overseas, European and Asian stocks were mostly lower Thursday due to weak economic data in both regions and despite the upgraded growth forecasts from the IMF.
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) are in focus this morning after Cisco offered to pay $3 billion for Norwegian video conferencing company Tandberg and B of A's CEO Ken Lewis said late Wednesday that he would retire.
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