MW: U.S. stock futures advance ahead of economic data
U.S. stock futures edged higher on Wednesday, as markets looked for new inspiration ahead of data on orders and new-home sales.
S&P 500 futures rose 4 points to 807.40 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 5 points to 1,241.20. Dow industrial futures rose 35 points.
U.S. stocks on Tuesday handed back parts of Monday's 7% rally, with financials pacing a retreat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 115 points, the Nasdaq Composite lost 39 points and the S&P 500 slipped 16 points.
"Now that the technical correction in bank valuations has occurred, the market is left searching for cyclical optimism on which to peg the next leg of the rally," said Lena Komileva, head of G7 market economics at Tullett Prebon in London, in a note to clients.
"And as the initial euphoria surrounding a successful policy announcement subsides, it becomes clear that a solution that stabilizes financials has very little bearing on the real economy, where unemployment is climbing, savings are on a structural uptrend and demand continues to fall," she added.
Data out of the U.S. on Wednesday includes durable-goods orders for February as well as new-home sales. Other measures of housing activity in February have climbed, though consensus expectations are for a fall.
Speeches are also due from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto and San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen.
The Ifo business climate index in Germany, a key economic indicator in Europe, edged lower in March.
The dollar was up against the euro but fell vs. the Japanese yen. Oil futures slipped by more than $1 a barrel ahead of weekly inventory data, while gold futures largely held their ground.
Of stocks in the spotlight, Jabil Circuit may be active as the electronics contract manufacturer reported a $42 million loss and said adjusted earnings will miss analyst estimates.
CIT Group also may be active as Standard & Poor's cut the group's credit rating but said it's becoming less concerned about its near-term liquidity position.
DryShips also may attraction attention after reporting a $1.02 billion quarterly loss and saying it's still in talks with lenders to waive breaches of loan covenants.
Red Hat and SAIC are due to report results.
European stocks generally were stronger, with the FTSE 100 up 0.1% in London and pan-European Stoxx 600 up 0.2%.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% in Tokyo and the Hang Seng fell 1.9% in Hong Kong.
