BLBG: U.S. stock futures edge up before retailing, housing reports
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures edged upward Tuesday as traders eye inflation, housing and two key earnings reports to determine which of the previous session's move made more sense -- the morning plunge or the afternoon recovery.
S&P 500 futures rose 1.7 points to 1,136.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 3 points to 1,916.50. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 16 points.
U.S. stocks on Monday ended with muted gains, masking big intraday turmoil -- the S&P 500 fell as much as 1.8% during the session before closing with a 0.1% rise.
"Whether it lasts or not, it definitely feels that systemic risk has been reduced since the actions of two weekends ago, but that the market has perhaps woken up to the slower growth world we are likely going to be living in post the extended crisis," said Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, referring to the 750 billion euro aid package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Tuesday's economic calendar features housing starts and producer prices data for April, with both releases due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
Overseas, U.K. CPI ran a faster-than-forecast 3.7% in April, while euro-zone inflation rose 1.5%.
Core CPI was 0.8% in the 16-nation euro bloc, according to the data released Tuesday. Last week's data showing core inflation turned negative in Spain rattled the market.
Traders also will be eyeing results from the world's top retailer, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT 52.73, +0.61, +1.17%) , and the leading home improvement retailer, Home Depot (HD 35.59, +0.39, +1.11%) .
Boeing (BA 69.68, -0.14, -0.20%) late Monday said it would increase the rate at which it builds 737 jets. Jefferies & Co. lifted its Boeing 2012 earnings per share estimate to $6 from $5.75.
Google (GOOG 507.97, +0.44, +0.09%) said it's buying a Norwegian IP services firm, Global IP Solutions, for $68 million.
Led by banks, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% in late morning trade. The Shanghai Composite bounced back after Monday's hammering, rising 2%.
The euro was steady at just under $1.24 while gold futures fell $13.70 to $1,214.40 an ounce.
