Futures Slide on Greek Default Worries

Stock index futures slipped in trading today on mounting worries about the debt crisis in the euro zone. The concerns have been raised after Greece said that it will not be able to meet its deficit reduction targets for this year.

Greece said that its deficit is expected to 8.5% of GDP in 2011, which is higher than the target of 7.8%. The admission from Greece regarding the deficit reduction target has raised worries that the debt-laden country will not receive the next tranche of loans required to avoid a default.

As the euro zone crisis continues to intensify, stocks are expected to remain under pressure. Ahead of the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were trading 32 points lower at 10,809, the S&P 500 futures were trading 2 points lower at 1,124, and the Nasdaq 100 futures were trading 12 points lower. Stocks had ended lower on Friday, the last trading day of the third quarter. Stocks also fell sharply for the third quarter.

The worries about Greek default have pushed European markets sharply lower today. At last check, the FTSE 100 Index in London was down 1.6%, while the DAX Index in Frankfurt was down 2.2%. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 Index ended 1.8% lower overnight.

Among the stocks expected to remain in focus in trading today in the U.S. include, Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK).

On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management will release a report on the manufacturing activity for the month of September. Economists expect the ISM manufacturing index to slip to 50.5. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department will report data on construction spending for the month of August. Economists expect a decline of 0.5% in construction spending for the month of August. Investors will also await the all-important September jobs report, which will be released by the Labor Department later in the week.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.