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U.S. stock index futures were getting battered by a fresh round of layoff announcements by some major companies and mostly dismal news about retail sales.
Dow components AT&T and DuPont both said they would slash thousands of employees; AT&T put its cuts at 12,000, or 4 percent of its workforce, while DuPont said it would cut 2,500.
Pharmaceutical giant and Dow component Merck cut its 2009 earnings forecast due to sales of several of its key medicines. The company said it expected earnings, excluding special items, of
$3.15 to $3.30 per share. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates were expecting $3.52, on average.
Though analysts had been expecting the move, Merck shares fell more than 5 percent in premarket trading.
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