Stock futures rise ahead of home sales report

[May 27, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market is set for a higher open Wednesday as investors anticipate a small improvement in existing home sales.

U.S. stock futures edged up modestly ahead of the National Association of Realtors' report. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters predict sales of existing homes rose to an annual rate of 4.66 million in April from 4.57 million in March.

If investors get that uptick, it would bolster the growing sentiment in the market that the U.S. economy is approaching recovery.

Before the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 29, or 0.3 percent, to 8,490. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.40, or 0.3 percent, to 911.10. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 1.75, or 0.1 percent, to 1,412.50.

On Tuesday, after an initial dip on worries about North Korea's nuclear testing in Asia, stocks soared on a surprisingly sharp rebound in consumer confidence. The May reading was the highest since September. Consumer sentiment does not always correspond to consumer spending, but the data nevertheless fueled investors' hopes for an economic rebound later this year.

The Dow jumped 196 points on Tuesday, leaving it 29.4 percent above the 12-year low it reached in March. The index, however, is still 40.2 percent below the record it hit in October 2007.

Government bonds were little changed in early trading Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, remained at 3.55 percent, its highest level in six months.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude rose 58 cents to $63.03 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rebounded 1.4 percent. In midday trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.6 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.7 percent.

[Associated Press; By MADLEN READ]

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