Stock futures turn lower following Bhutto assassination

NEW YORK -- U.S. stock futures turned lower Thursday after the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. A marginal increase in durable goods orders also sent futures falling.

Bhutto's assassination raised the possibility of increasing political unrest abroad, always an unsettling prospect for investors.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said orders for durable goods -- products expected to last at least three years -- increased by just 0.1 percent last month. Economists had been looking for a rise of 2.2 percent. Still, November saw the first rise in durable-goods orders in the last four months.

The notion that the economy is slowing was also unnerving for the market.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the number of workers seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 58, or 0.43 percent, to 13,585. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 5.40, or 0.36 percent, to 1,504.30, and Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 6.50, or 0.30 percent, to 2,153.00.

Bond prices rose sharply. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.18 percent from 4.29 percent late Wednesday. The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Wall Street is also awaiting a weekly reading on domestic crude oil inventories.

Light, sweet crude rose 52 cents to $96.49 per barrel in pre-opening trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.