Stocks could slip on oil again
With oil staying above the $70 a barrel mark, stock futures point to flat or mixed open ahead of latest readings on wholesale inflation, home building.
April 18, 2006: 6:47 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks could face pressure ahead of some key economic reports as oil prices remain above $70 a barrel.
U.S. stock futures were up slightly in early trading, indicating a flat or mixed open for U.S. markets when compared to fair value, as oil prices slipped slightly but remained near the record close reached Monday.
The May light crude futures contract for NYMEX edged up 3 cents to $70.43 a barrel in electronic trading, while the June contract for Brent crude edged 9 cents higher to $71.55.
Economic reports due Tuesday include the latest reading on inflation at the wholesale level, as well as a government report on housing starts and building permits, both due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect the Producer Price Index to show a 0.4 percent rise in March, following a 1.4 percent decline in February on lower energy prices that month. The so called core-PPI, which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, is expected to be up 0.2 percent, compared to a 0.3 percent gain in February.
Housing starts are forecast to be down to an annual rate of 2.03 million in March from 2.12 million in the latest sign of a cooling housing market, while permits, seen as a measure of builder confidence in the market, it expected to fall to 2.10 million from 2.18 million the previous month.
Also in economic news, at 2 p.m. the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its most recent meeting, the first chaired by Ben Bernanke.
Major markets in Asia closed higher Tuesday, while major European markets mixed in early trading.
Treasury prices were little changed, leaving the yield on the benchmark 10-year note near the 5.0 percent level reached late Monday. The dollar was higher against the yen and little changed against the euro.
Earnings reports due Tuesday include drug and consumer product maker Johnson & Johnson (Research), a Dow component, which is expected to report slightly better than expected results before the bell, and four bellwether tech companies -- computer maker IBM (Research), cell phone maker Motorola (Research), Internet firm Yahoo! (Research) and chip maker Texas Instruments (Research), which are all due to report after the market close.