Stocks signal mixed open as Street seeks direction

[February 25, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street headed for a mixed open Wednesday as investors looked for clues about the economy after two back-and-forth days in the market.

Investors showed little reaction to President Barack Obama's speech Tuesday night that touched on the need to create jobs and stabilize the credit system. He said specifics on these and other goals would follow but that billions more may be needed to stabilize the banking system.

Stocks rebounded Tuesday from a Monday sell-off as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress the recession might end this year, and that regulators aren't planning to nationalize banks. Investors were also buying ahead of Obama's speech before a joint session of Congress.

Wall Street must now determine whether the more upbeat tone from Washington will help translate to improved consumer confidence, which tumbled to a record low this month. Consumers are key to a recovery because their spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Investors have little economic data to pore over as they search for direction Wednesday.

A trade group report on sales of existing homes is expected to show selling increased slightly in January. The increase would mark the second straight month of improvement from November's record low. Sales are expected to rise to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million units, from 4.74 million a month earlier, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The National Association of Realtors' report is due at 10 a.m. EST.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 16, or 0.22 percent, to 7,320. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.00, or 0.39 percent, to 771.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 2.25, or 0.19 percent, to 1,161.25.

The modest moves in futures follow a 236-point rally in the Dow on Tuesday and a 251-point slide on Monday. Tuesday's move lifted the Dow and the S&P 500 index off their lowest levels since 1997.

Bond prices slipped early Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.81 percent from 2.80 percent late Tuesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.30 percent from 0.29 percent Tuesday.

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

Light, sweet crude rose 78 cents to $40.74 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In afternoon trading in Europe, stocks rose after the U.S. rally Tuesday. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.27 percent, Germany's DAX index jumped 1.87 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.59 percent. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.65 percent.

___

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/

[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.