Futures down on global growth concerns, FedEx weighs

US-MARKETS-STOCKS:Futures down on global growth concerns, FedEx weighs

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures fell on Wednesday on concerns over global economic growth after data suggested weakness in the euro zone's private sector, and economic bellwether FedEx cut its profit forecast.

* FedEx Corp <FDX.N>, the world's second-largest package delivery company, cut its profit outlook for the current quarter, saying weakness in the global economy was hurting demand for overnight international shipments more than anticipated. The announcement was made after the closing bell on Tuesday.

* The euro zone is likely to have slipped back into recession in the current quarter, according to a survey published on Wednesday that showed a seventh month of contraction for the bloc's private sector as new orders dwindled. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), published by Markit, showed the economic rot that began in smaller periphery members of the 17-nation bloc is now taking hold even in Germany, the region's largest and strongest economy.

* China's services sector also grew at its slowest pace in a year in August, even though firms are hiring more workers at higher wages, the HSBC private sector survey showed on Wednesday, following gloomy manufacturing polls earlier in the week.

* In the U.S., the Labor Department releases revised Q2 productivity and unit labor costs at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast productivity to rise 1.8 percent versus a 1.6 percent rise in the preliminary Q2 report.

* Nokia <NOK1V.HE> and Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> will take the wraps off the struggling European company's most powerful smartphone on Wednesday, in what may be their last major shot at winning back a market dominated by Apple <AAPL.O>, Samsung <005930.KS> and Google <GOOG.O>.

* The FBI said on Tuesday there was "no evidence" to support claims that hacking group Anonymous infiltrated an FBI agent's laptop and lifted a file with identification numbers for more than 12 million Apple products. Anonymous affiliate "AntiSec" posted a file on the Internet on Monday that it said contained more than 1 million of the Apple numbers

* Facebook Inc <FB.O> promised not to sell stock to cover a nearly $2 billion tax bill and said it will allow employees to cash in their stock weeks ahead of schedule, moving to soothe nervous investors and its own staff as its share price spirals downward.

* Automakers turned in their best August since before the 2007-09 recession, with U.S. monthly auto sales rising 20 percent from a year ago as consumers with aging vehicles showed more confidence in buying big-ticket items on easier credit terms.

* General Motors Co <GM.N> began initial production of its first ever Chinese-designed car for the Indian market this week, a major step for the U.S. automaker as it tries to scale up in a market where foreign companies have struggled.

* Rupert Murdoch's News Corp <NWSA.O> announced it nominated Alvaro Uribe, former president of Colombia, and Elaine L. Chao, former U.S. labor secretary, to its board.

* U.S. airlines could place hundreds of orders for new jets on top of their recent wave of purchases,- leaving billions of dollars' worth of orders for U.S. manufacturer Boeing Co <BA.N> and European rival Airbus <EAD.PA> still to fight over.

* Capital One Financial Corp <COF.N> said its top stakeholder ING Bank NV <ING.AS> intends to sell all of its stake in the company in a public offering.

* A rally in Apple helped the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rise 8.09 points, or 0.26 percent, to 3,075.06, on Tuesday, after the tech giant distributed invitations to an event in San Francisco on September 12, setting the stage for what is widely expected to be the release of the iPhone 5. The Dow and the S&P 500 closed lower on Tuesday.

* S&P 500 futures fell 2.7 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 fell 17 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 5.25 points.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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