US Stocks Look to Start 3Q on High Note

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher opening Wednesday as investors await data on the manufacturing and housing industries.

Futures are reflecting gains in European markets, which rose after upbeat reports on manufacturing activity in both Britain and the 16 countries that share the euro currency.

Economists expect manufacturing activity in the U.S. to have declined in June for the 17th straight month, but at the slowest pace since last August. The report on manufacturing from the Institute for Supply Management is to be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Investors are also anticipating reports on construction spending and pending home sales in May.

As the third quarter begins, investors want to see more evidence that the economy is on track for a turnaround in the second half of the year.

Despite falling sharply Tuesday on a disappointing report on consumer confidence, stocks ended the April-June period with significant gains. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index had its best quarter in a decade.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 40, or 0.5 percent, to 8,434. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures are up 5.10, or 0.6 percent, to 920.60, and Nasdaq 100 index futures are up 7.50, or 0.5 percent, to 1,483.75.

In corporate news, Citigroup Inc. sold NikkoCiti Trust and Banking Corp., part of its Japanese business, to Nomura Trust and Banking Co. for $196 million. The New York bank, which has received $45 billion in government aid, has been shedding assets and trying to streamline operations in an effort to return to profitability.

Citigroup shares added 5 cents to $3.02 in pre-market trading.

And in an upbeat earnings report, General Mills Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled. The maker of Cheerios cereal and Yoplait yogurt also offered earnings guidance for 2010 above analysts' expectations.

Analysts say earnings reports coming in the next few weeks will largely determine which way the market heads in the third quarter. Investors are especially eager to hear what companies have to say about business prospects in the second half of the year.

Markets have pulled a stunning recovery since hitting 12-year lows in early March. All the major indexes rose by double-digit percentage points in the second quarter, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index finished higher for the first six months of 2009.

Still, the major indexes have pulled back from multi-month highs in mid-June amid growing doubts about the strength of the economy's recovery. Since June 12, the Dow is down 4 percent, the S&P 500 down 2.8 percent and the Nasdaq, 1.5 percent.

Bond prices slipped ahead of the economic data. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.58 percent from 3.54 percent late Tuesday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude rose $1.23 to $71.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX index was up 1.4 percent, and France's CAC-40 jumped 1.7 percent.

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-stocks-look-to-start-3Q-on-apf-2182038618.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=