Thursday May 15, 10:56 AM
WALL STREET OUTLOOK Flat-to-higher open seen ahead of Bernanke; GE in focus
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Wall Street is on track to open flat to higher on Thursday ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on the credit crisis, with General Electric Co. an early focus on a report it is preparing to auction
off its appliances business.
A string of economic reports will also provide direction for investors.
According to spread bettors IG index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open down about 2 points at 12,896. Separately, S&P 500 futures were up 2.20 points at 1,410, while Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: news) futures rose 4.50 points to 2,001.
On Wednesday, stocks ended higher after a better-than-expected report on consumer prices tempered some of the market's concerns about inflation.
However, a fresh rise in crude futures on Thursday morning may rekindle some of those inflation concerns.
Investors were taking advantage of a pullback of record highs to buy back into the commodity, helped by a drop in the dollar against the euro that made dollar-priced crude cheaper for holders of other currencies.
New York light sweet crude for June delivery was last up 69 cents at $124.91.
In a busy morning for economic data, the Empire State manufacturing report and the Philly Fed survey will provide investors with a snapshot on the current health of the nation's manufacturing sector.
The National Association of Home Builders releases its monthly sentiment survey, with a slight improvement forecast for May.
Industrial production data and weekly jobless claims are also scheduled for release.
Meanwhile, Bernanke is set to speak on the subject of the causes of the recent credit market turmoil.
He is also expected to talk about the consequences of the crisis and the possible cures to steady the credit markets. He is set to speak at 2.30 p.m. GMT at the annual Chicago Fed conference.
In corporate news, General Electric (NYSE: GE - news) shares are likely to see active trading on a Wall Street Journal report the industrial conglomerate is set to auction its appliances business.
The sale could yield between $5 billion and $8 billion, the Journal reported.
The paper also reported that billionaire investor Carl Icahn has decided to lead a mutiny against Yahoo Inc (NASDAQ: YHOO - news) .'s board in an attempt to pressure the directors into reviving negotiations to sell Yahoo to Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT - news) .
To turn up the heat on Yahoo's board, Icahn has lined up a slate of 10 directors to nominate as replacements, the paper said, citing an unnamed person close to the matter.
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