12 News KBMT and K-JAC. News, Weather and Sports for SE TexasStocks to decline on Europe worries

Stocks to decline on Europe worries

CNNMoney staff

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open lower Thursday, as nervous investors continue to question whether Greece will secure a second bailout.

Investor sentiment was further dampened after Moody's put 17 global banks and 114 European financial institutions on review for possible downgrades.

The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures fell between 0.1% and 0.5% ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Among the global banks possibly affected by Moody's review -- nine are headquartered in Europe, the agency said. Moody's added that Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS, as well as New York-based Morgan Stanley, could see their long-term ratings slashed by up to 3 notches.

U.S.-based Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America were also put on watch.

Meanwhile, uncertainty remains over Greece and its efforts to secure much-needed additional bailout funds. European finance ministers delayed a decision on the bailout Wednesday, as they continue to evaluate a proposed austerity program from Athens.

The Eurogroup meets again on Monday and indicated it would likely give its approval for the latest economic reform proposal, which Greece needs in order to secure bailout funds and avoid defaulting on a €14.5 billion bond redemption in March.

U.S. stocks closed lower Wednesday, as the euro hit a 1-week low on uncertainty over Greece's debt crisis.

World markets: European stocks were in the red in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.7%, the DAX in Germany dropped 1% and France's CAC 40 shed 0.4%.

Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei edged lower 0.2%.

Economy: Reports due Thursday morning include initial unemployment claims, producer prices and data from the housing market. Investors will look to see whether the economic data offers further signs that the U.S. is on the path to economic recovery, after a number of strong macroeconomic reports in recent weeks.

Initial unemployment claims for the week ended February 11 are expected to total 365,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com -- up from 358,000 in the week prior.

Housing starts for January are expected to total 671,000, while the Producer Price Index for January is expected to have increased by 0.3%.

Companies: General Motors posted a record $7.6 billion net profit for 2011, making it the first year since 2004 that all Big Three automakers -- GM, Ford and Chrysler -- are profitable.

DirectTV beat earnings and sales estimates during the fourth quarter, with particular strength coming from the company's presence in Latin America. DirecTV also announced a $6 billion stock buyback program.

Nvidia's stock tumbled a day after the company first-quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street's estimate.

Shares of J.M. Smucker slid after the maker of Jif peanut butter and Folgers coffee posted a 11% drop in its fiscal third-quarter profit that also fell below expectations.

Shares of Amazon were down after Apple asked the e-commerce giant to halt sale of the iPad in China. The move came after Apple lost a trademark dispute over the "iPad" name against in Chinese courts against Proview Technolgoy.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar was higher against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for March delivery slipped 47 cents to $101.33 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $8.40 to $1,719.70 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.92% from 1.93% late Wednesday.

The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta/+1-404-827-WIRE(9473)

™ & © 2012 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.