Wall Street poised for a mixed opening

[April 14, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is set for a mixed opening Tuesday after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. became the second major bank in less than a week to announce better-than-expected first-quarter results.

Investors are still cautious ahead of new economic data and additional earnings reports that will help provide further insight into how the economy is faring.

In another sign the banking sector might be turning around on the heels of Wells Fargo's surprisingly strong forecast last week, New York-based Goldman's $1.66 billion profit easily beat analyst expectations. The New York-based bank also said it will issue $5 billion in stock to help repay the $10 billion loan it received from the government last year. Hundreds of banks received funds from the government as part of the U.S. Treasury's plan to help unclog the stagnant credit markets.

Goldman announced its earnings a day earlier, releasing the results Monday after the market closed.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 15, or 0.19 percent, to 8,010. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 2.60, or 0.30 percent, to 851.40, while Nasdaq 100 index futures are rose 3.00, or 0.23 percent, to 1,335.00.

Investors will get plenty of more earnings reports to review Tuesday, which will provide a glimpse of how firms in other sectors are performing. Intel Corp., CSX Corp. and Johnson & Johnson are all scheduled to report results.

Aside from the earnings reports, investors will get plenty of economic data to review. The government will release data on inflation at the wholesale level and retail sales for March.

The Producer Price Index is expected to remain flat for March, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The inflation measure increased 0.1 percent in February.

Retail sales are expected to have increased 0.3 percent last month after dipping 0.1 percent in February, according to analysts.

Both reports are due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Meanwhile, bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.87 percent from 2.86 percent late Monday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.19 percent from 0.16 percent late Monday.

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

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.9 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1.8 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.2 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 STEPHEN BERNARD]

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