Earnings reports from two Dow components and economic readings of consumer sentiment and the housing industry could determine if Tuesday will be a second straight bullish session for U.S. stock markets.
At 5:25 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a mixed start for the major indexes.
Home Depot (HD: Research, Estimates), the nation's No. 1 home improvement retailer, issues its fiscal second-quarter earnings before the start of trading -- and a day after archrival Lowe's came out with a solid profit and forecast. Analysts surveyed by Reuters Research expect Home Depot to post earnings of 54 cents a share, up from 50 cents a year earlier.
After the close, printer and computer makerHewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates) puts out its results for the fiscal third quarter. The company, which is rolling out more than 100 new consumer products for the 2003 holiday season, is seen posting income of 26 cents a share, up from 14 cents a year earlier.
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Home Depot was up more than 1 percent and HP was more than 2 percent higher.
The government issues its July report on housing starts before the open, and the annual rate is expected to have edged down to 1.79 million from 1.8 million in June, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
For details of Monday's rally, click above
After trading begins, the University of Michigan's initial August reading of consumer sentiment -- delayed from Friday because of the Northeast blackout, will be reported by news services. The index is forecast to have risen to 91.5 from 90.9 in July.
The Dow Jones industrial average got the week off to a solid start with a 1 percent gain on strength in the chip and retail sectors. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index did even better, adding 2.2 percent. (see chart for details)
Asian-Pacific stocks finished higher Tuesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1.4 percent to a nearly 13-month high. European markets rose in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Treasury prices slid in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield up to 4.52 percent from 4.46 percent late Monday. The dollar gained against the euro, and was little changed versus the yen.
Brent oil futures pulled back 9 cents to $28.57 a barrel in London, where gold was little changed in early trading.
At 5:25 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a mixed start for the major indexes.
Home Depot (HD: Research, Estimates), the nation's No. 1 home improvement retailer, issues its fiscal second-quarter earnings before the start of trading -- and a day after archrival Lowe's came out with a solid profit and forecast. Analysts surveyed by Reuters Research expect Home Depot to post earnings of 54 cents a share, up from 50 cents a year earlier.
After the close, printer and computer makerHewlett-Packard (HPQ: Research, Estimates) puts out its results for the fiscal third quarter. The company, which is rolling out more than 100 new consumer products for the 2003 holiday season, is seen posting income of 26 cents a share, up from 14 cents a year earlier.
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Home Depot was up more than 1 percent and HP was more than 2 percent higher.
The government issues its July report on housing starts before the open, and the annual rate is expected to have edged down to 1.79 million from 1.8 million in June, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
For details of Monday's rally, click above
After trading begins, the University of Michigan's initial August reading of consumer sentiment -- delayed from Friday because of the Northeast blackout, will be reported by news services. The index is forecast to have risen to 91.5 from 90.9 in July.
The Dow Jones industrial average got the week off to a solid start with a 1 percent gain on strength in the chip and retail sectors. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index did even better, adding 2.2 percent. (see chart for details)
Asian-Pacific stocks finished higher Tuesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1.4 percent to a nearly 13-month high. European markets rose in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)
Treasury prices slid in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield up to 4.52 percent from 4.46 percent late Monday. The dollar gained against the euro, and was little changed versus the yen.
Brent oil futures pulled back 9 cents to $28.57 a barrel in London, where gold was little changed in early trading.
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