stocks end day higher but may is a loss, page-2

economic storm rattles wall street Economic storm rattles Wall Street
Slew of reports on economic strength, sales, fuel supplies on tap, leaving investors more nervous ahead of Friday's job report.
June 1, 2006: 8:55 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Investors were cautious early Thursday ahead of a slew of economic and sales readings, the day after minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting cast more uncertainty about the future of interest rates into the markets.

U.S. stock futures were little changed in early trading, indicating a flat or mixed open for U.S. markets.

The government report showed a 3.7 percent improvement in worker productivity in the first quarter. While that's up from the initial reading of a 3.2 percent gain, it fell short of the 3.9 percent improvement forecast by economists. Productivity improvement is seen as one of the factors helping to keep inflation pressures in check, so the disappointing result could raise new concerns about rate hikes.

The report on initial jobless claims came in above forecasts, which lifted the four-week average to the highest level since October of 2005. At 10 a.m. ET readings are due on the strength of manufacturing in May from the Institute of Supply Management and a government report on April construction spending.

And all those reports come ahead of Friday's much anticipated May employment report. The weaker employment outlook from the jobless claims could actually cheer some investors who worried that strong jobs gains in the Friday report could push the Fed to keep hiking rates.

The economic readings are even more important to investors as the Fed minutes continue to suggest that even the central bankers are not certain what they will do with interest rates at their meeting June 28 and 29.

Investors will also see May sales reports from major retail chains before the market open Thursday. Analysts surveyed by sales tracker First Call forecast a 3.8 percent average gain in sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched retail measure known as same-store sales. But early readings generally came in above forecasts.

Wal-Mart Stores (Research), the world's No. 1 retailer, came in at only a 2.3 percent gain, at the low-end of its earlier guidance and below the forecast of a 2.9 percent rise. The company warned Thursday it is not expecting things to be much better in the new month. It is forecasting a 1 to 3 percent gain in same store sales for June as it said high gasoline prices should continue to weigh on its sales. Shares of the Dow component were slightly lower in pre-market trading on Inet following the report.

Automakers also report their May sales during the trading day. Auto sales tracker Edmunds.com forecast that General Motors (Research), Ford Motor (Research) and DaimlerChrysler (Research) post lower year-over-year sales while leading import brands continue to gain.

Oil prices were lower in early trading ahead of a 10:30 a.m. ET report on weekly fuel inventories, which was delayed a day by the Memorial Day holiday. Oil traders are also watching for news out of the meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Venezuela, along with news about talks in Europe trying to resolve the dispute over the Iranian nuclear program.

The June light crude futures contract for NYMEX was down 58 cents to $70.71 in electronic trading, while the July contract for Brent crude lost 71 cents to $69.70.

Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday, with markets gaining in Japan and Australia and losing ground in Hong Kong and South Korea. Major European markets were down in early trading.

Treasury prices continued the sell-off that started with the release of the Fed minutes Wednesday, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.13 percent from the 5.12 percent level reached late Wednesday. The dollar was higher against the yen and the euro.

In other corporate news, Alcoa (Research) reached an last-minute agreement with the United Steelworkers union to avert a strike that could have hit the No. 1 aluminum maker Thursday. Shares of the Dow component were up 0.4 percent in Frankfurt trading early Thursday.

For a more detailed look at the markets before the open, click here.

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