Stocks are headed for a modestly higher open on Monday as investors await a dose of regional manufacturing data and make last-minute adjustments to their portfolios on the final day of the second quarter.
The market lost ground last week, falling for the first week in five. But stocks have roared higher in the past 3-1/2 months amid hopes for an economic rebound, and the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index .SPX is on track to notch its best quarterly performance in 4-1/2 years.
Investors are now searching for signs the economy and corporate profits are on the rebound, and, with little corporate news on the calendar, this week's economic data could steal the spotlight.
"The economic data will be put to a higher test," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. "We need to see data points that point to a stronger second half because that's what the stock market has bet on."
A report from Chicago purchasing managers, due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), will help give Wall Street some insight into the health of the manufacturing sector and will likely be a precursor to the national figures due on Tuesday.
It is expected to show a gain in June to 53 from 52.2 in the prior month, according to economists in a Reuters survey.
Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures for September were up 4.40 points at 977.70, while Nasdaq futures for the same month were up 7.50 points at 1,210.
But quarter-end "window-dressing" could make for a volatile session, as money managers snap up stocks that have risen during the quarter and dump those that have declined in order to dress up their quarterly statements.
The annual rebalancing of the Russell Indexes could also lead to whipsaw action as fund managers seeking to reflect the gauges buy stocks that are added and sell ones that are dropped.
Trading is expected to be moderate this week with many investors taking the week off and U.S. financial markets closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
The S&P 500 is up about 22 percent since hitting its 2003 low in mid-March and is up about 15 percent this quarter. So far this quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI is up about 12 percent and the technology-packed Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC is up about 21 percent.
Now, investors want to see solid evidence that economic growth will match pace with the expectations for gains in corporate profits that they have built into stock prices.
Reports on the manufacturing sector, construction spending, factory orders and unemployment, all set for release this week, could help yield some clues.
Among stocks to watch was Intel Corp. INTC.O , which on Monday unveiled a new Titanium 2 server chip.
Neuberger Berman Inc. NEU.N said on Friday that it is in early merger talks with an unnamed partner just days after news that Lehman Brothers was wooing the asset management firm.
Seagate Technology HDD Holdings STX.N , the largest U.S. maker of computer-hard-disk drives, said on Friday that revenue and earnings per share in the current quarter will be slightly above analysts' consensus estimates. The company cited stronger sales of high-end drives.
Global oil giant ExxonMobil Corp XOM.N said on Monday it has decided to sell its stakes in Australia's Wandoo and Woollybutt oilfields, offshore Western Australia state.
In overseas trading, European blue chips looked set to finish the financial quarter on a positive note, led by European carmakers such as BMW BMWG.DE after costly strikes in Germany ended. The FTSE Eurotop 300 was up 0.3 percent at 862 points.
Japanese shares closed mixed on Monday as foreign buying kept NEC Corp 6701.T and other exporters firm, marking the end of a stellar first quarter of the business year in which the Nikkei average surged 14 percent. The Nikkei .N225 ended Monday down 0.23 percent at 9,083.11.
The market lost ground last week, falling for the first week in five. But stocks have roared higher in the past 3-1/2 months amid hopes for an economic rebound, and the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index .SPX is on track to notch its best quarterly performance in 4-1/2 years.
Investors are now searching for signs the economy and corporate profits are on the rebound, and, with little corporate news on the calendar, this week's economic data could steal the spotlight.
"The economic data will be put to a higher test," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co. "We need to see data points that point to a stronger second half because that's what the stock market has bet on."
A report from Chicago purchasing managers, due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), will help give Wall Street some insight into the health of the manufacturing sector and will likely be a precursor to the national figures due on Tuesday.
It is expected to show a gain in June to 53 from 52.2 in the prior month, according to economists in a Reuters survey.
Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures for September were up 4.40 points at 977.70, while Nasdaq futures for the same month were up 7.50 points at 1,210.
But quarter-end "window-dressing" could make for a volatile session, as money managers snap up stocks that have risen during the quarter and dump those that have declined in order to dress up their quarterly statements.
The annual rebalancing of the Russell Indexes could also lead to whipsaw action as fund managers seeking to reflect the gauges buy stocks that are added and sell ones that are dropped.
Trading is expected to be moderate this week with many investors taking the week off and U.S. financial markets closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.
The S&P 500 is up about 22 percent since hitting its 2003 low in mid-March and is up about 15 percent this quarter. So far this quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI is up about 12 percent and the technology-packed Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC is up about 21 percent.
Now, investors want to see solid evidence that economic growth will match pace with the expectations for gains in corporate profits that they have built into stock prices.
Reports on the manufacturing sector, construction spending, factory orders and unemployment, all set for release this week, could help yield some clues.
Among stocks to watch was Intel Corp. INTC.O , which on Monday unveiled a new Titanium 2 server chip.
Neuberger Berman Inc. NEU.N said on Friday that it is in early merger talks with an unnamed partner just days after news that Lehman Brothers was wooing the asset management firm.
Seagate Technology HDD Holdings STX.N , the largest U.S. maker of computer-hard-disk drives, said on Friday that revenue and earnings per share in the current quarter will be slightly above analysts' consensus estimates. The company cited stronger sales of high-end drives.
Global oil giant ExxonMobil Corp XOM.N said on Monday it has decided to sell its stakes in Australia's Wandoo and Woollybutt oilfields, offshore Western Australia state.
In overseas trading, European blue chips looked set to finish the financial quarter on a positive note, led by European carmakers such as BMW BMWG.DE after costly strikes in Germany ended. The FTSE Eurotop 300 was up 0.3 percent at 862 points.
Japanese shares closed mixed on Monday as foreign buying kept NEC Corp 6701.T and other exporters firm, marking the end of a stellar first quarter of the business year in which the Nikkei average surged 14 percent. The Nikkei .N225 ended Monday down 0.23 percent at 9,083.11.
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