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 Investors who have been concerned about rising prices as they try to determine what the Federal Reserve will do to combat inflation will pay close attention to the Labor Department's planned release of the Producer Price Index. The June PPI is expected to again increase after posting a rise in May. The core figure, which eliminates often volatile food and energy prices, is also expected to rise. Increasing oil prices have in recent months been widening the distance between the overall and core readings, stirring some concerns that inflation will deplete some of consumers' ability to keep spending and help prop up the economy.
Dow Jones industrial futures expiring in September fell 18, or 0.13 percent, to 14,011, while Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 3.70, or 0.24 percent, to 1,556.00. Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 5.50, or 0.27 percent, to 2,043.00.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
Light, sweet crude rose 41 cents to $74.56 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil closed above $74 Monday for the first time since August.
Also Tuesday, the Fed is due to report on industrial production and capacity utilization, both of which are expected to be a bit stronger in June than in May. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders releases its housing market index, and analysts forecast a modest decline.
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 The flurry of news Tuesday could either help affirm or undermine the confidence Wall Street has shown in recent sessions in which the Dow set fresh records and the Standard & Poor's 500 index broke through a seven-year-old trading record.
The fast pace of news that Wall Street craves to help it make its bets will continue as the week unfolds. Eleven of the 30 companies that make up the Dow industrials report this week.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.12 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 recently fell 0.98 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.26 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.92 percent.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange:
http://www.nyse.com/
NASDAQ Stock Market:
http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press;
by Tim Paradis]
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