By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch Consumer prices, spending and
new-home sales all on tap
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures made small advances
on Wednesday, the last full day of trading ahead of the
Thanksgiving break, ahead of a barrage of data on consumer prices,
new-home sales and other indicators.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) rose 22
points to 17,830, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPZ4)
added 3.3 points to 2,070.90. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
(NDZ4) gained 9 points to 4,301.50.
A strong U.S. economic-growth figure and a surprising dip in
consumer confidence left Wall Street stocks marginally lower on
Tuesday, snapping three days of gains for the S&P 500 (SPX) and
the Dow industrials (DJI). Volumes were already thinning ahead of
Thursday's Thanksgiving Day break. Markets will close early on
Friday.
In that big data lineup, consumer spending for October is due at
8:30 a.m. Eastern Time and is tipped to rise 0.3%, from a 0.2% fall
earlier in the month, according to economists polled by
MarketWatch. The core PCE price index for that month is due at the
same time, as is a reading on durable goods orders, which are
forecast to fall for the second straight month, partly on softer
auto sales. Weekly jobless claims will be released at the same
time.
Then at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time comes the Chicago
purchasing-managers index for November, followed by the consumer
sentiment index for the same month. Reports on new and pending home
sales for November are scheduled for release 15 minutes later.
Long the S&P 500, and oil worries: Chris Weston, chief
market strategist at IG, has pointed out that funds are running the
second-lowest short positions in S&P 500 futures for the year,
while the cash market shows 88% of stocks are now above their
50-day moving average. That figure stood at 13% in mid-October, he
said in a note.
This isn't screaming "selloff", as 20% of companies are still
trading below their 200-day moving averages, said Weston in a note.
But "a short-term move lower of 3-5% would be healthy for the next
stage of the bull market to materialize, especially with the U.S.
index trading at peak EBIT margins," he added.
Oil prices(CLF5) rose, but prices were choppy after a
prior-session slump, as investors waited for Thursday's OPEC
meeting. Analysts at Jefferies said don't bet on any agreement
coming out of OPEC that would be "big enough to spur a rally in
Brent prices" in the near term. See: Oil traders are clearing out
ahead of the OPEC decision
Stocks to watch: Deere & Co.(DE) will release results ahead
of the bell.
Hewlett-Packard Co.(HPQ) may see pressure, after a late-session
fall that was triggered by earnings that matched forecasts and
revenue that came up short.
Other markets: European stocks made moderate gains, led by the
German DAX 30 index . Japanese stocks broke a winning strength as
the yen perked up against the dollar(USDJPY). Gold prices(GCZ4)
tipped south.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires