Stock futures point to higher open ahead of data

[June 30, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are looking to keep stocks in positive territory on the last day of the second quarter.

U.S. stock futures are slightly higher Tuesday morning, extending modest gains logged the previous day and following mixed trading in overseas markets.

After a relatively quiet day of trading on Monday, investors are hungry for more signs that the economy is not only improving but growing. Later Tuesday morning, investors will get a reading on consumer confidence. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting June's consumer confidence figure to rise to 57 from 54.9.

As the April-June period coming to a close, analysts say the market could be a bit more volatile as investment managers make last-minute changes to their portfolios.

With the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index up 16.2 percent since the start of the second quarter, some money managers are likely to buy up stocks and other assets to bolster their quarterly reports to their clients.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 20, or 0.2 percent, to 8,478. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.10, or 0.3 percent, to 924.30, and Nasdaq 100 index futures gained 4, or 0.3 percent, to 1,485.50.

On Monday, a surge in oil prices drove energy, industrial and material stocks higher and helped push the Dow up nearly 91 points. The S&P 500 index added 8 points, while the Nasdaq rose 5.

After months of economic data showing that the recession was not getting worse, investors have grown weary and nervous that the economy's rebound won't be as robust as they envisioned. This fear has put a dent in the market's three-month advance that saw stocks jump more than 30 percent off of 12-year lows in early March.

On Wednesday, investors will get a key reading on the manufacturing sector, while Thursday brings the much anticipated monthly jobs report. Markets are closed Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

Bond prices were slightly lower early Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.49 percent from 3.48 percent late Monday.

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

Light, sweet crude rose 7 cents to $71.56 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.8 percent. In late morning trading in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 slipped 0.04 percent.

[Associated Press; By SARA LEPRO]

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