Stock Futures Tumble Amid Dimmer Outlook, Rising Yields

Editor's Note: A previous version of this report inaccurately stated Berkshire Hathaway reduced its position in Coca-Cola. The conglomerate, in fact, made no change to its stake.

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U.S. stock-index futures slid deep into the red on Thursday after Wal-Mart cut its outlook and upbeat job data sent Treasury yields jumping.

Today's Markets

As of 8:45 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 119 points to 15185, S&P 500 futures dropped 13.8 points to 1668 and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 30.5 points to 3093.

The Dow suffered its worst drop since June on Wednesday. The blue-chip index was set to extend its slide after Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), the world's biggest retailer, cut down its full-year outllook. Shares of the Dow heavyweight dropped some 2% in early trading. Fellow blue chip Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) said after the bell Wednesday it would cut 4,000 jobs amid a slower sales pace.

On the economic front, the number of individuals filing for first-time jobless benefits fell to 320,000 last week from an upwardly-revised 335,000 the week prior. Economists expected claims to rise to 335,000 from an initially-reported 333,000. Claims came in at the lowest level since October 2007.

Treasury bond yields climbed sharply on the back of the report, with the 10-year rate rising 0.081 percentage point to 2.796%.

A separate report from Labor shoed consumer prices rose 0.2% in July matching Wall Street’s expectations. Excluding food and energy, prices climbed 0.2%, also meeting estimates.

The New York Federal Reserve’s gauge of manufacturing activity fell to 8.24 in August, from 9.46 in July, missing consensus estimates of 10. Readings above 0 indicate expansion, while those below indicate contraction. A more closely-watched survey from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve at 10:00 a.m. ET is expected to indicate the expansion mid-Atlantic manufacturing sector having cooled off just slightly on the same basis.

Elsewhere in corporate news, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway raised its holdings in General Motors (NYSE:GM) and initiated a position in Dish Networks (NASDAQ:DISH).

In commodities, U.S. oil futures gained 36 cents, or 0.34%, to $107.22 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline climbed 0.26% to $2.991 a gallon. In metals, gold rose slightly to $1,334 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.56% to 2836, the English FTSE 100 plummeted 1.3% to 6502 and the German DAX declined 0.76% to 8374.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 tumbled 2.1% to 13753 and the Chinese Hang Seng edged lower by 0.01% to 22539.