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Stocks were poised for a moderately higher open this morning, as investors try to continue last week's rally. This morning, investors will focus on data about inflation and the housing market.
In general, though, the mood has soured somewhat after Alcoa (NYSE: AA) slashed its dividend and gave a gloomy outlook Monday, American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) said Monday its credit card defaults and deliquencies have risen over the past three months, and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) announced layoffs Tuesday in response to lower demand.
- At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, an hour before the opening bell, February data for housing starts and building permits are due out. According to Briefing.com, economists expect housing starts have fallen further in February, as have building permits.
- At the same time, Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of inflation at the wholesale level, is forecast to have risen 0.4% in February. Core PPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, is expected to be up 0.1%.
- The Federal Reserve also starts its two-day policy meeting today.
Overseas, most Asian stock markets extended their rally Tuesday, with banks leading the gains, but European shares opened lower following Monday's rally on the heels of Barclays (NYSE: BCS) announcement it was performing well so far in 2009. Another positive data point came out of Germany Tuesday, as the German March investor confidence index unexpectedly rose in March to the highest level in almost two years.
Meanwhile, oil prices dipped again Tuesday to $46.80 a barrel as OPEC's decision not to cut supply quota was weighed against falling demand due to the economic slowdown.
What's also making headlines today is the issue of executive bonuses, especially in light of AIG (NYSE: AIG)'s bonuses. There is obvious anger over that from taxpayers, while companies are trying to get around the bonus cap.
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