Wednesday March 26, 09:50 AM
WALL STREET OUTLOOK Lower open seen ahead of housing, durable goods data
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Wall Street is looking at a lower opening Wednesday ahead of housing data and a report on durable goods orders, with a speech from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also likely to garner attention.
According to spread bettors IG Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open down 44 points at 12,488. Separately, S&P 500 futures fell 3.80 points to 1,347.60 while Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ: news) futures were off 3 points at 1,823.
Yesterday stocks ended mixed as disappointing reports on consumer sentiment and the housing market saw investors take a breather after a sharp run-up in the market over the last two sessions.
The latest report on new home sales is only likely to deepen investor gloom about the housing market.
Sales of new homes are expected to have fallen to 575,000 on an annualized basis in February from 588,000 in the prior month, according to the mean estimate of economists polled by Thomson (Paris: FR0000184533 - news) 's IFR Markets.
Among other data of note, orders for durable goods are seen rebounding in February, with a 0.7 pct rise forecast after a 5.3 pct decline in January.
Excluding transport sales, however, the picture is less rosy, with a 0.4 pct decline expected.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson speaks on the economy and the financial markets at 2.15 pm GMT. Speeches from Fed officials will also punctuate the trading session.
On the corporate front, Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL - news) could come under pressure after the electronic parts manufacturer said its fiscal third-quarter profit would come in below Wall Street estimates.
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