By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures indicated a choppy
open for Wall Street Tuesday, ahead of reports expected to show
some slowing in U.S. housing prices and confidence among U.S.
consumers.
The market will also assess a round of quarterly results from
the health sector, including Aetna Inc. and Merck & Co.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) inched up 9
points to 16,925, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4)
reversed a slight loss for a gain of 10 points at 1,973.50. The
Nasdaq 100 index (NDU4) moved up 4 points to 3,964. (Read more in
Need to Know for Tuesday: Why short sellers are winners for 2014 so
far
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/need-to-know/2014/07/29/why-short-sellers-are-winning-right-now-and-going-big-against-ackmans-deathblow/.).
A snapshot of consumer confidence from the Conference Board is
due at 10 a.m. Eastern. The reading is expected to fall to 85.0 in
July, after a jump in June to the index's highest level in six and
a half years. Confidence still remains well below pre-recession
levels.
On tap at 9 a.m. Eastern is the Case-Shiller home price index
for May, and that's likely to show the cost of buying a home has
tapered off after a significant runup last year.
Data released Monday showed pending U.S. homes sales fell 1.1%
in June, the first decline in four months. That report "confirmed
Fed Chair Yellen's remarks before the Senate Banking committee
earlier this month about the overall slowdown in the housing
sector," wrote Marshall Gittler, head of global FX strategy at
IronFX, on Tuesday.
Yellen and her fellow monetary policy makers will begin their
two-day policy meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Ahead of the opening bell, shares of Aetna (AET) gained nearly
5% after the health insurer raised its 2014 operating earnings
projection based on improvement in second-quarter results from the
year-earlier period.
Also due to report, drug maker Merck & Co. (MRK) is seen
posting per-share earnings of 81 cents, on $10.6 billion in
revenue.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. (PFE) is seen reporting
earnings of 57 cents a share on $12.47 billion in revenue.
Logistics company United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is forecast
to report $1.25 a share in earnings on sales of $14.12 billion.
Stock in Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) fell 11% ahead of the open,
extending losses from late Monday when the nutritional supplements
marketer posted quarterly results that missed Wall Street's
targets.
Investors will also keep watch for any update about further
sanctions that may be imposed against Russia by the European Union
related to its conflict with Ukraine.
After the regular session ends, Twitter Inc. (TWTR) is slated to
release second-quarter results.
In Asia, most major stock markets ended higher, with Japan's
Nikkei Average up 0.6%. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 edged higher
on upbeat earnings reports.
Oil prices (CLU4) turned slightly lower, while gold (GCU4) rose
nearly $5. The U.S. dollar index (DXY), which measures the
greenback against a basket of six other currencies, rose to 81.046
from 81.025 on Monday.
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