Before the bell: Futures higher ahead of housing, inflation, manufacturing data

Posted Jun 16th 2009 7:45AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the Bell, International Markets, China, Russia, Market Matters, Economic Data, Oil

U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday morning following Monday's sharp sell-off that had stocks return to negative territory for the year as commodity prices fell. The question, ahead of the barrage of data investors await to be released this morning, whether this is the beginning of a new down cycle as some subscribe to the second dip recession school of thought, or a one-day profit-taking, healthy correction.

A slew of economic indicators might help investors get a better idea of where the economy is headed and direct markets more clearly:

At 8:30 AM, May housing starts and building permits are due out, both expected to be higher than April's rates
At the same time, inflation at the wholesale level, or PPI is expected to have risen 0.6% in May, according to Briefing.com, compared to an increase of 0.3% in April. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, is expected to edge up 0.1%, same as in April. Inflation has been in focus lately as some fear it could spike.
Finally, at 9:15 AM, two manufacturing indicators are due out: May industrial production and capacity utilization.

Overseas, Asian stocks tumbled, following Wall Street's sharp declines, but European stock markets steadied Tuesday as investors have grown increasingly cautious about the likelihood that the recent rally in equities will continue through the summer. German investor confidence rose more than economists forecast to a three-year high in June after evidence emerged that the recession in Europe's largest economy is bottoming out, and U.K. inflation slowed less than economists forecast in May.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose back above $71 a barrel Tuesday as investors picked up commodities after the U.S. dollar slumped on comments by Russian President Medvedev, who said the world needed new reserve currencies. It wasn't just Russia, but China too who sought greater international clout at a summit Tuesday, with China promising a $10 billion loan to Central Asian countries.

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