NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Tuesday as corporate results and outlooks prompted worries about the impact of an economic slowdown on company profit.
News that the Federal Reserve launched a new facility to fund purchases of certificates of deposit and commercial paper from money market mutual funds helped futures to briefly pare losses but the boost was short-lived.
Shares of energy producers were also hurt as the price of oil slid more than $2 to around $71 a barrel.
Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc fell 5 percent to $34.89 in trading before the bell after the mining company said quarterly profit fell sharply.
Among the heavy-hitters, tech bellwether Texas Instruments Inc warned of slowing sales for its widely used analog chips, while chemical company DuPont Co cut its full-year forecast.
S&P 500 futures fell 26.00 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 217 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 34.75 points.
(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Kenneth Barry)