Stocks homeward bound

Futures up ahead of latest economic reading on housing starts, building permits.

June 16, 2005: 6:16 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Investors will be looking homeward Thursday as a report on housing starts and building permits will be the latest reading on the strength of the real estate market and that important sector of the economy.

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading ahead of the 8:30 a.m. ET government report, indicating a higher opening for stocks,

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast housing starts edged up to a 2.05 million annual rate in May from 2.04 million pace in April, while permits, a measure of home builders' confidence in the market, are expected to have declined to a 2.11 million pace from 2.15 million the previous month.

Oil prices were slightly higher after a rally Wednesday took prices above the $56 a barrel mark during intraday trading, following a government report that showed lower U.S. fuel supplies.

The July light crude contract gained 5 cents to $55.62 a barrel in electronic trading, while the August contract for Brent crude rose 22 cents to $55.46.

Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday, and major European markets were higher in early trading.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.12 percent from the 4.10 percent level late Wednesday. The dollar gained against on the yen and was little changed against the euro.

In corporate news, drugmaker and Dow component Pfizer (Research) announced a deal early Thursday to buy Vicuron Pharmaceuticals (Research) for $1.9 billion in cash.