By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures fell Wednesday in thin volume as traders opted to lock in profits rather than place bets for next year.
S&P 500 futures fell 5.8 points to 1,115.90 and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 7.25 points to 1,865.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 48 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a point on Tuesday to end a seven-session winning run, with the S&P 500 also retreating a point and the Nasdaq Composite down 2 points. The losses came on a day when statistics were released showing the highest level of consumer confidence since December 2007 and the slowest year-on-year house price fall in two years.
The improving economic outlook has helped the blue chips climb over 20% this year, including a 61% improvement from the depths of March.
But the health of financial institutions is still an issue, as The Wall Street Journal reported that GMAC Financial Services is close to getting $3.5 billion in fresh government aid, on top of the $12.5 billion in support it's already received.
Data out of Europe on Wednesday showed a money supply contraction in November as private-sector lending continued to drop.
Wednesday features the final U.S. government debt auction of the year -- $32 billion in seven-year notes -- and the release of a Chicago-area manufacturing gauge and weekly energy inventories data.
There's also news from the pharmaceutical sector. The Food and Drug Administration has rejected trial data on an anti-infection drug from Johnson & Johnson , according to Basilea Pharmaceuticals, the Swiss firm that licensed the drug to J&J and has an arbitration claim against the Dow component.
Pfizer has stopped a late-stage trial of a lung cancer treatment. Pfizer, also a component of the Dow industrials, had halted new patient enrollment in September for that treatment.
Asian shares finished mixed Wednesday, with a steep drop in shares of Japan Airlines owner JAL putting pressure on the market in Tokyo and a rise in financials propping up stocks in Shanghai.
European stocks weakened after setting fresh 14-month highs in the previous session, with Basilea falling sharply and banks also retreating.
Oil futures traded close to $79 a barrel, and the dollar index was steady.
