* Fitch cuts Portugal's sovereign credit rating
* Durable goods, new home sales for February on tap
* Futures down: S&P 4.2 pts, Dow 21 pts, Nasdaq 6.75 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Writes through, adds details, quote, byline)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
fell on Wednesday after Portugal's sovereign credit rating was
downgraded one notch on budget concerns.
The cut by Fitch Ratings to AA- dragged down European
shares and took the euro to new 10-month lows against the U.S.
dollar. Concerns over high sovereign debt loads among some euro
zone nations, including Greece, have plagued equity markets,
drawing investors away from risky assets, including stocks.
Fitch warned that further underperformance this year and
next could bring another downgrade but added that the
government's long-term austerity plan was broadly credible. For
details, see []
"I think this is just the beginning of a long process of
downgrading a number of major governments until they put their
debt in order," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm
LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
"It's a negative because it sends the message that
investments that were previously thought to be safe could have
problems to them."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 4.2 points and were below fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> dropped
21 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> shed 6.75 points.
The stronger dollar hit commodity prices, which could weigh
on resource companies. The price of oil <CLc1> tumbled 1.7
percent to $80.50 a barrel.
Economic reports on tap include durable goods at 8:30 a.m.
EDT (1230 GMT) and new home sales at 10:00 a.m. EDT, both for
February. Durable goods orders are expected to rise 0.7
percent, compared with a gain of 2.6 percent the month before,
while new home sales are seen rising to 320,000 from 309,000 in
the previous month, according to Reuters data.
Design software maker Adobe Systems Inc <ADBE.O> gained 5.7
percent to $37.22 in premarket trading, a day after reporting
adjusted first-quarter profit that beat expectations and
revenue came in above consensus. []
MF Global Holdings Ltd <MF.N> shares shot up 15.3 percent
to $8.44 after former Goldman Sachs <GS.N> chief executive and
former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine was named chairman and
CEO of the futures and options broker that has lost money for
the last four quarters. []
On the downside, Jabil Circuit Inc <JBL.N> sank 5.5 percent
to $17.34 in late trading Tuesday after the technology
distributor reported that quarterly revenue fell short of
estimates. []
General Mills Inc <GIS.N> shares fell 1.4 percent to $72.51
in light premarket trading after the cereal maker reported
higher-than-expected quarterly profit. []
Stocks rallied Tuesday, led by the technology, industrial
and materials sectors, driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to
18-month highs. The Dow chalked up its 10th day of gains out of
the past 11 sessions.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
