Stock futures point to lower Wall Street open

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street Tuesday as the dollar, which powered Monday's huge rally, was little changed.

Investors paused after sending the Dow Jones industrials up 200 points for the second time in three days. They believe the greenback's continuing slide will keep interest rates low, and that has enabled many investors to look past some of the economy's trouble spots, including rising unemployment. The unemployment rate now sits at 10.2 percent.

Some analysts, though, are warning that this rally, which has taken stocks to new highs for 2009, is unwarranted given the still-uncertain economy.

The euro was down slightly against the dollar Tuesday. Gold was down slightly after rising to a new high of $1,111.70 on Monday, while oil prices also slipped lower.

Commodities prices have also been rising in response to the weak dollar, and that has helped send the stocks of energy and materials producing companies higher.

In early corporate news Tuesday, Beazer Homes USA posted a fourth-quarter profit despite a plunge in revenue. The Atlanta-based homebuilder said high unemployment and rising foreclosures continue to make it difficult to predict when the housing market will recover.

Dow futures fell 21, or 0.2 percent, to 10,171. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 3.00, or 0.3 percent, to 1,088.70, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 1.00, or 0.1 percent, to 1,765.50.

Investors continue to seek guidance about the economy, hoping retailers' earnings reports later in the week will give a sense of how much consumers are spending. Without the help of the consumer, which accounts for around for 70 percent of the U.S. economy, any economic recovery will be modest.

Markets overseas remain higher, catching up to the advance in the U.S. on Monday.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 0.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 was unchanged.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.46 percent from 3.49 percent late Monday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.07 percent from 0.05 percent late Monday.



Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

< Back to News Index