CASH COW

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morning cash cow....Before the bell: Futures edge lower ahead of housing data, more earnings
Posted Jul 28th 2009 7:40AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Earnings reports, Market matters, Viacom (VIA), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), U.S. Steel (X), Valero Energy (VLO), Economic data, Teva Pharm Indus ADR (TEVA), Commodities, Oil, Housing

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U.S. stock futures declined Tuesday morning after managing to close higher on Monday to extend the remarkable rally in the markets in the last two weeks. Today, more earnings are on tap, and investors will also focus on housing data coming out before the opening bell. Finally, there is a hearing about the energy trading that would be of interest to investors.

What on many investors' minds these past recent days is how long will the rally continue. The market, on Monday, on the one hand showed resilience following some disappointing earnings and pressures from sellers trying to cash in profits. On the other hand, the surprise climb in housing sales perhaps should have triggered a more convincing positive performance. While no doubt some would want to take some profit of the table in the coming days, more positive news from corporate results to economic data indicating a better third quarter could sustain markets.

Reporting this morning are several blue chip companies at different sectors of the economy, including BP (NYSE: BP) and Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO), which would also be affected by the proceedings regarding energy trading, U.S. Steel (NYSE: X), Teva Pharma (NASDAQ: TEVA) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA).
At 9:00 a.m., the May S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is due out with economists expecting home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas probably fell 17.9 percent -- a slower pace in May, indicating the market is stabilizing. Still, rising unemployment, stagnant confidence and the loss of wealth mean a rebound may be slow to take hold.

At 10:00 a.m., July's consumer confidence will be released.

Overseas, world stock markets mostly traded in a narrow range Tuesday, while oil prices inched higher on anticipation that further positive economic news would extend a three-week rally.