U.S. stocks: Futures sink amid weak earnings

U.S. stock futures signaled another day of stock losses on Wednesday, with investors on edge ahead of an upcoming European Central Bank meeting and as the earnings season so far has delivered less than stellar results.

Market reaction to better-than-expected housing starts data was muted.

Losses in futures accelerating from earlier in the morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH5, -0.50% at last check, falling 87 points, or 0.5%, to 17,375, and those for the S&P 500 index SPH5, -0.28% down 6.6 points, or 0.4%, to 2,010.20. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 NDH5, -0.07% lost 13 points, or 0.3%, to 4,153.

Worries about lower inflation and slowing global growth dogged U.S. stocks on Tuesday. Stocks ended that chopping trading session with only minor gains, leaving the S&P 500 SPX, +0.15% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.02% each up about 3 points. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.44% climbed 20 points, or 0.4%, driven largely by Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.37%

The U.S. corporate earnings parade will continue to roll on Wednesday. Markets showed little reaction to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

In economic news, construction started on new U.S. homes rose 4.4% in December, led up by single-family homes, while volatile apartment building slowed, according to government data released Wednesday. The report was better than expected, however, analysts cautioned not to read too much into single month data as they tend to be volatile.