Wall Street signals higher open ahead of econ data

[March 25, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street signaled a higher open early Wednesday ahead of reports on big-ticket manufactured goods and sales of new homes.

Stock futures pointed moderately higher after the market fell Tuesday following a huge rally Monday that came as the government outlined a plan to help banks dispose of bad assets.

Early Wednesday, traders will be looking at a report on orders at U.S. factories for cars, airplanes, household appliances, furniture and other large goods. Wall Street predicts that demand for durable goods fell for a record seventh straight month in February.

Economists expect that orders for manufactured goods expected to last at least three years dropped 2 percent last month following a 4.5 percent slide in January, according to Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

The Commerce Department report is due at 8:30 a.m.

The government is also expected to release a report after the opening bell showing that sales of new homes fell 2.9 percent last month to a record low. Wall Street expects new home sales fell in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 units from 309,000 units a month earlier.

Any better-than-expected results could give a boost to stocks. Economists' expectations have been so grim lately that recent reports on retail sales, housing starts and inflation have helped propel a two-week rally in stocks after the numbers weren't as bad as feared.

But investors are still bracing for weak economic readings as they hunt for signs that the economy is slowing its descent.

After the drop in stocks Tuesday, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 30, or 0.4 percent, to 7,650. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 4.80, or 0.6 percent, to 808.20, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 5.75, or 0.5 percent, to 1,242.00.

Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was flat at 2.71 percent from late Tuesday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.20 percent from 0.17 percent Tuesday.

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

Oil prices fell $1.11 to $52.87 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 0.1 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.2 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 TIM PARADIS]

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