Futures remain sharply lower on bleak housing reading, record decline in consumer prices. Investors keep Big Three bailout in focus.
More bad news emerged from the housing sector Wednesday as readings on housing starts and building permit sank to historic lows during the month of October. The Commerce Department said housing starts fell to an annual rate of 791,000 last month, down from the revised reading of 828,000 in the prior month. That represents the lowest level since the department began tracking starts in 1959.
And building permits plunged 12% last month to an annual rate of 708,000, breaking the previous low of 709,000 in March 1975. The annual rate for September was revised to 805,000, the government said.
Concerns about the housing slump pressured stocks a day earlier after a survey of homebuilders showed sentiment fell to yet another low in November.
But U.S. stocks managed to finish the day in positive territory. The Dow gained 1.8%, the S&P 500 index rose 1% and the Nasdaq composite ended little changed.
Overseas markets weren't buoyed, however, by the gains on Wall Street. Asian markets finished Wednesday's session lower and European stocks tumbled in morning trading.
Consumer prices also plunged by a record amount in October, the Labor Department reported. Its Consumer Price Index fell 1% last month, representing the biggest one-month decline in prices at the consumer level. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com anticipated a reading of 0.8% in October. The core CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices fell 0.1% during the month. Economists had expected a 0.1% rise after a 0.1% jump in September.
On Tuesday, the government reported that the wholesale price of goods fell 2.8% in October, a record drop that was steeper than expected.
Big Three: Still, investors are expected to be paying close attention to what happens with the nation's Big 3 automakers.
Fed minutes: At 1900 GMT, the Fed releases the minutes from its Oct. 29 meeting. The central bank cut a key short-term interest rate by a half-percentage point to 1% at that meeting.
Companies: Stocks to watch include Boeing. The company is delaying jet deliveries by as much as 10 weeks as it attempts to recover from a strike by its machinists, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Oil prices fell 29 cents a barrel to $54.10 in electronic trading.