By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures lost ground
Wednesday ahead of Wall Street's open as fears about interest-rate
hikes from the Federal Reserve resurfaced as Treasury yields rose
to highest level in six weeks.
Apple Inc. could see pressure after one analyst downgraded its
shares. The company unveiled a new iPhone and its Apple Watch on
Tuesday. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., Land's End and GT Advance
Technologies shares were active premarket.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) were down 14
points at 17,020, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) were
off 2 points to 1,987.70. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4)
slipped 3 points to 4,062.
A thin economic calendar will keep the spotlight on recent
consolidation for Wall Street. A report on wholesale inventories
for July is expected Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern, the sole data
release expected.
The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.7% to 1,988.44 on Tuesday, its
fourth loss in the last five trading days.
Fed triggers jitters: Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari,
said a lack of fresh economic data is weighing on stocks globally,
but rising bond yields, particularly in the U.S., may be the bigger
culprit.
"Rising yields may reflect a slight repricing of the first rate
hike, with some believing that markets had priced in a later hike
than the Fed is suggesting," he said in a note. But he said there
isn't any recent evidence to suggest the Fed has indeed brought
rate-hike expectations forward.
Investors will look to next week's Federal Open Market Committee
meeting for fresh guidance on rates.
European markets came off intraday lows. Asian markets were
lower, with the exception of a small rise for the Nikkei 225 index
.
Stocks to watch: Analysts at Pacific Crest cut Apple (AAPL) to
sector perform, citing a lack of new "profit drivers" to maintain
an outperform rating after the iPhone maker unveiled the latest
version of its popular phone and a new Apple Watch wearable device
on Tuesday.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (GTAT) shares slid 8.23% after it
became clear that Apple won't move toward broad use of sapphire
cover screens, which GT provides.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) could grab attention on a report in
The Wall Street Journal that the technology group is set to pay
about $2 billion in a deal to buy the maker of the popular
"Minecraft" videogame.
Land's End Inc. (LE) shares rallied nearly 6% after the clothing
retailer posted better-than-expected sales and profit in its fiscal
second quarter.
Dollar General (DG) may see action as the company takes its $9.1
billion offer to buy Family Dollar Stores (FDO) directly to its
rival's shareholders. The move comes after Family Dollar's board
rejected the takeover offer.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) skidded more than 6% in after-hours
trading Tuesday after the doughnut chain posted stronger sales, but
adjusted profit missed forecasts.
Other markets: As investors backed away from stocks, gold
prices(GCZ4) rose and the dollar continued to climb, hitting
another nearly six-year high against the yen (USDJPY).
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