Stocks head for mixed open ahead of housing data

[July 24, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street headed for a mixed open Thursday as investors eyed the release of key data on the troubled housing market and sifted through another stream of earnings reports.

A fresh reading on sales of existing homes will likely show sales resumed their decline in June after a slight rebound in May. The National Association of Realtors' report is scheduled for release at 10 a.m. EDT.

Sales are expected to fall by 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.940 million units in June, down from 4.990 million in May, according to Thomson/IFR.

Investors will also digest a raft of second-quarter reports, including Ford Motor Co., Dow Chemical Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Eli Lilly & Co. and 3M Corp.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 47, or 0.28 percent, to 11,566. The blue chip index rose nearly 170 points in the past two sessions.

Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 4.80, or 0.37 percent, to 1,277.60. Nasdaq 100 index futures added 1.50, or 0.08 percent, to 1,850.50.

Stocks streamed higher in the past two session as a big drop in oil prices helped distract investors from disappointing earnings, especially from financial companies. The price is now down more than $20 after just weeks ago hitting a record above $147 a barrel.

However, oil edged higher on Thursday, with a barrel of light sweet crude up 23 cents at $124.67 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bond prices were higher Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.09 percent from 4.12 percent from late Wednesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Ford said it lost $8.67 billion in the second quarter, largely because of a reduction in the value of assets. The company also said it will bring six European small car models to North America by the end of 2012 as it deals with high gasoline prices.

Dow Chemical said despite two price increases set during the second quarter, sharply higher costs for energy and raw materials contributed to a 27 percent decline in profit.

Drugmakers Bristol-Myers and Eli Lilly both reported higher quarterly profit as the weak dollar boosted foreign sales and several key drugs saw big jumps in U.S. sales. Bristol-Myers beat expectations with an 8 percent rise in quarterly profit, while Eli Lilly reported a 44 percent rise in profit that narrowly missed forecasts.

Industrial conglomerate 3M said its second-quarter profit rose slightly on strong double-digit growth in international markets. Sales were up 32 percent in Latin America, 18 percent in Europe, 14 percent in Canada, and excluding certain items were up 17 percent in Asia Pacific.

Amazon.com Inc. shares are set to move higher after it reported late Wednesday that second-quarter earnings more than doubled and easily topped analysts' expectations. The Internet retailer also raised its full-year revenue projections.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to move higher after the House passed legislation aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and at helping Fannie and Freddie. The Treasury Department would gain power to extend the government-sponsored mortgage companies an unlimited line of credit and to buy an unspecified amount of their stock, if necessary.

The two companies, chartered by Congress, back or own $5 trillion in mortgages -- nearly half the nation's total.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.18 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.91 percent, Germany's DAX index shed 1.19 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.76 percent.

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[Associated Press; By JOE BEL BRUNO]

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