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 The report will be closely watched by some economists who feel the U.S. is moving toward a recession because of the ongoing housing slump.
The housing data will also be scrutinized by the Federal Reserve. Many on Wall Street hope the Fed will cut the benchmark fed funds rate to ease the impact of a tightening of the credit market due to troubles in subprime mortgages.
Wall Street snapped a five-day advance on Thursday as investors had lingering worries about the impact of credit problems on the economy.
Dow futures expiring in September rose 39, or 0.39 percent, to 13,322, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures fell 3.10, or 0.21 percent, to 1,463.30. Nasdaq 100 index futures dropped 6.75, or 0.35 percent, to 1,932.75.
Investors globally also seemed hesitant to put money into the market ahead of the U.S. open. Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.02 percent, Germany's DAX index shed 0.38 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.15 percent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.41 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.20 percent.
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 In corporate news, retailer Gap Inc. late Thursday posted a 19 percent rise in quarterly earnings and announced plans for a $1.5 billion share buyback. However, rival Aeropostale Inc.'s quarterly results came in below Wall Street estimates.
Burger King Holdings Inc. is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter profit. Analysts project the fast-food chain will post a profit of 27 cents a share.
Oil prices fell 28 cents to $69.555 in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices have fallen after it appeared there was no major damage to oil rigs as Hurricane Dean pushed through Mexico.
[Associated Press; by Joe Bel
Bruno]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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