U.S. Stocks Open Lower Following Thursday Declines

While most of the 30 stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial closed in the red yesterday, Kraft Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: KFT) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) bucked that trend. Kraft climbed 0.71%, according to Bloomberg, and Pfizer rose 0.25%. Pfizer announced yesterday that it had settled a lawsuit accusing Impax Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: IPXL) of infringing patents. But Pfizer is down 0.4% in premarket trading today.

The Dow’s biggest losers were Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), down 8.07%; Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), down 3.35%; and Alcoa (NYSE: AA), down 2.71%. HP pulled down PC makers after some negative analyst chatter, while Boeing saw a big order from Qantas canceled. HP and Boeing are up about 0.2% in premarket trading, but Alcoa is 0.4% lower.

Like the Dow and the S&P 500, the Nasdaq closed lower Thursday. Chinese synthetic fabric maker Lizhan Environmental Corp. (NASDAQ: LZEN),  which posted second-quarter results yesterday, saw its share price surge 127.27% to all of $0.25. China BAK Battery Inc. (NASDAQ: CBAK) rose 56.35% to $0.55 per share after it announced it had received an order from a Volkswagen joint venture.

The largest drop on the Nasdaq came from OptimumBank Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: OPHC), which fell 18.63% following its report of a second-quarter net loss. Chinese retailer QKL Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: QKLS) fell 15.29%, also following a second-quarter report.

U.S. stock futures are down slightly this morning, and the S&P 500 Index may be headed toward its first weekly decline in almost two months, due to uncertainty over prospects for additional stimulus by the Federal Reserve and concern that European leaders are not making progress in solving the region’s debt crisis.