Wall Street stock futures pointed lower Friday after a U.S. government report revealed an unexpected decline in durable-goods orders in August, marking the largest drop in seven months.

The U.S. Commerce Department said manufacturers’ orders for durable goods dropped by 2.4% last month to a seasonally adjusted US$164.44 billion, hurt by lower aircraft demand. Economists had projected orders would climb 0.3%.

Data on new home sales in the U.S. will be out shortly after the market opens. The latest consumer sentiment reading will also come after the open.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar was down 0.16 of a cent to US91.67¢.

In commodities news, the November crude contract on the new York Mercantile Exchange was down 23¢ to US$65.66 a barrel.

The December gold contract on the Nymex declined US$4.10 to US$994.80 an ounce.

Overseas, the Japanese Nikkei 225 stock index shed 2.6%. In
Hong Kong, the Hang Seng lost 0.1%.

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 index was ahead 0.75%, Germany’s DAX added 0.13% while the Paris CAC 40 moved up 0.17%.

Resource stocks led the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange sharply lower Thursday.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 231.78 points, or 2%, at 11,285.76.

The heavyweight energy sector fell 2.5% as high U.S. crude oil inventories sparked fears of lower fuel demand.

Among individual stocks, Research In Motion Ltd. fell 2.4% before it released its second quarter results after markets closed.

The BlackBerry maker reported earnings of $1.03 per share. However, RIM forecast third quarter sales that were lower than expectations.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 21.49 points, or 1.68%, to close at 1,256.36.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell on signs of weakness in housing and concern that the government might be easing stimulus efforts too soon.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 41.11 points, or 0.42%, to 9,707.44. The S&P 500 slipped 10.09 points, or 0.95%, to 1,050.78. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 23.81 points, or 1.12%, to close at 2,107.61.

IE