Futures pare losses after economic reports

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Futures shaved their losses Tuesday following a parade of better-than-expected economic news, but gains were limited amid ongoing worries over the euro zone crisis. Stocks tumbled in Europe,


adding to the previous session's decline, as investors continued to worry about the southern European countries' ability to tackle their debt problems and prevent their borrowing


costs from rising. New Italian Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti is scheduled to meet the leaders of Italy's biggest two parties to discuss the "many sacrifices" needed to


reverse the collapse in market confidence that's driving the euro zone debt crisis. Retail sales rose 0.5 percent in October as strong receipts from motor vehicle and building material


dealers offset the drag from service stations, according to the Commerce Department. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales climbing 0.3 percent last month. A gauge of


manufacturing in New York state rose to 0.61 in November, ending five straight months of contraction, while the outlook for coming months strengthened, according to the New York Federal


Reserve. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of minus 2.1. Meanwhile, producer prices fell 0.3 percent in October, its first decline in four months, amid lower prices for


gasoline and consumer goods, according to the Labor Department. Economists polled by Reuters had expected prices to slip 0.1 percent. Among earnings, Wal-Mart tumbled after the world's


biggest retailer narrowly missed profit expectationseven though same-store sales rose more-than-expected. Home Depot gained after the home-improvement retailer beat earnings estimates and


raised its outlook. Dell is on track to post results after-the-bell tonight. Bank of America's sale of most of its shares in China Construction Bank earned the U.S. lender a tidy


profit, but also underlined that BofA, like other foreign financial groups, found scant strategic gain in the Chinese stake it built. Telecom equipment manufacturer, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES,


plans to buy the remaining 49 percent stake in a joint venture with Symantec that it does not already own for $530 million in a bid to bolster its corporate security solutions business. The


Commerce Department also issues Business Inventories data for September at 10 am ET. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a rise of 0.1 percent versus a 0.5 percent rise in the prior month.


_—Follow JeeYeon Park on Twitter: _twitter.com/JeeYeonParkCNBC_—_ _ON TAP THIS WEEK: _ TUESDAY: Fed's Williams speaks, business inventories, Fed's Lacker speaks, Fed's Fisher


speaks, Amazon's tablet ships, credit card default rates reported; Earnings from Dell WEDNESDAY: Weekly mortgage apps, CPI, industrial production, housing market index, oil


inventories, Fed's Lacker speaks, Fed's Rosengren speaks, LA auto show; Earnings from Abercrombie & Fitch, Target, Applied Materials, Limited Brands, NetApp THURSDAY: Housing


starts, jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed survey, Fed's Pianalto speaks, Motorola Mobility votes on Google acquisition, GM IPO 1-year anniversary; Earnings from Dollar Tree, GameStop,


Ross Stores, Sears, Gap, Marvell Tech FRIDAY: Leading indicators; Earnings from Heinz _MORE FROM CNBC.COM: _ * Homes on Top of the World * Top Performing 'Green' Stocks * Holiday


Gifts That Give Back 2011