U.S. stocks head for moderately lower open

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks headed for a moderately lower open Thursday as investors appeared skeptical that a plan from the Federal Reserve and other central banks to ease tightness in the credit markets would prove effective.

Stocks declined overseas amid uncertainty over the plan after an initial burst of enthusiasm in the U.S. on Wednesday gave way to concerns about the effort to inject liquidity into the credit markets.

U.S. stocks ended higher but well off their highs Wednesday as investors took a closer look at the Fed's agreement with the European Central Bank and the central banks of England, Canada and Switzerland to combat what it labeled elevated pressures in the credit markets.

Uncertainty continued Thursday ahead of several economic readings due before the opening bell, including the Labor Department's producer price index, a reading of inflation levels.

In addition, the Commerce Department is slated to release its November retail sales report. The reading could be an important snapshot of retailers' health heading into what is for many the most important period of the year.

The uncertainty over the economy sent stock futures lower. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 31, or 0.23 percent, to 13,469.

Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 16.40, or 1.09 percent, to 1,484.10, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 32.00, or 1.5 percent, to 2,097.00.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its yields, rose to 4.10 percent from 4.06 percent late Wednesday. The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude rose 17 cents to $94.56 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.50 percent, Germany's DAX index lost 0.87 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.74 percent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 2.48 percent, while Hong Kong's Heng Sang index lost 2.72 percent on the day.