A lower start is expected as S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures trade near session lows: S&P futures vs fair value: -11.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -26.50. Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda plans to reduce its holdings of Ford (F) due to value it sees in gaming and hospitality and the oil and gas industries. It has sold 7.3 million shares of Ford in the open market for an average price of $2.43 per share and plans to further reduce its Ford holdings, including the possibility of the sale of all its 133,500,000 shares, or 6.1% stake. Ford is down 2.6% in premarket trading. In commodity trading, oil prices are down 2.3% to $72.58 per barrel and gold is down 1.4% to $779.20 per ounce. The dollar is up 0.8% as it hits a fresh 52-week high.
Dow components, Pfizer (PFE) and 3M (MMM) posted a larger-than-expected increase in earnings per share. American Express (AXP) saw earnings decline, but its results topped expectations. DuPont (DD) posted upside results for its latest quarter, but issued downside guidance. Caterpillar (CAT) slightly missed estimates. In other earnings news, Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Schering-Plough (SGP) topped expectations. Coach (COH) reported in-line earnings. Biogen (BIIB) posted upside results for its latest quarter, but issued downside guidance for fiscal year 2008. Texas Instruments (TXN) reported a larger-than-expected drop in earnings per share and gave a downside earnings estimate for the fourth quarter. SanDisk (SNDK) reported a larger-than-expected loss. BlackRock (BLK) and US Bancorp (USB) reported earnings that missed estimates, although it is not clear if they are comparable. Separately, more overseas governments have moved to shore the financial system. France plans to purchase roughly $14 billion in debt from six of its largest banks. Credit markets continue to show improvement with Libor decreasing across all terms and the TED Spread falling 36 basis points to 2.62% -- its seventh consecutive decline.