U.S. stock futures pointed to a second straight day of declines on Wall Street on Wednesday after crude oil hit a new high on worries of scarce supplies. But second-quarter earnings continued strong, with health insurer Cigna Corp. posting a profit after a loss. Shares of drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co. may rise after it said U.S. regulators have approved the company's new antidepressant drug. But the good news coming from the market has been muted by the record-high cost of crude. "Higher oil prices continue to push the equity markets lower," said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist with State Street Corp. The high cost of oil eventually cuts into personal consumption "which slows the economy down," he said.
Rising oil prices also hurt profits at most companies, particularly those in the manufacturing and transportation sectors. S&P 500 futures for the September contract fell 5 points to 1092.3, or 7 points below fair value, accounting for dividends, interest rates and time to expiration on the contract. That indicates the underlying index may open 0.6 percent lower. Dow Jones industrial index futures slid 40 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 6.5 points. Overnight, U.S. light crude hit a peak of $44.34 a barrel in electronic trading on continuing concerns that any hiccup in the tightly stretched supply chain could lead to a major disruption in global flows. Oil prices have hit record highs four days in a row on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Before the market opened, Cigna shares rose 42 cents on the INET electronic brokerage to $63, up from its close on the New York Stock Exchange of $62.58. Ciena Corp. last traded at $2.23 on INET, down from Tuesday's close of $2.76 on the Nasdaq. The telecommunications equipment maker said it would report third-quarter sales far below what analysts were expecting. Economic data set for release on Wednesday includes the ISM nonmanufacturing data for July and factory orders for June, both due at 10 a.m.///