Stock futures off; Ford, confidence data ahead

MADRID (MarketWatch) � U.S. stock-market futures pushed mostly lower on Tuesday, ahead of earnings from bellwethers Ford Motor Co. and Corning Inc., while data due later are expected to show strength in the housing market but a sharp drop in consumer confidence.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH3 �fell 21 points to 13,811, while those for the Standard & Poor�s 500 index SPH3 �eased 4.7 points to 1,492.40.

Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NDH3 �fell 9 points to 2,728.50.

�With U.S. consumer-confidence data for January expected shortly after the opening bell, along with earnings news from names including Ford and Amazon, traders� resolve to keep building out this rally certainly has the potential to be tested yet again,� said Fawad Razaqzada, market strategist at GFT Markets, in a note on Tuesday. The Tell: Five critical things needed to keep the markets flying

Click to Play Stocks on track for best month since October 2011

Weakness in materials stocks weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as markets awaited earnings from Yahoo. Matt Jarzemsky reports on The News Hub. Photo: Getty Images.

It�s a big week for economic data, with fourth-quarter gross domestic product and key January nonfarm-payroll numbers both out this week. Read: Wall Street's 'Super Bowl' set to kick off

Ahead of that, Tuesday�s data are expected to show the S&P/Case-Shiller index of U.S. home prices edging down in November but rising annually on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, say economists polled by MarketWatch. That report is due for release at 9 a.m. Eastern time.

At 10 a.m. Eastern, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its barometer of consumer confidence, which is expected at 64.3 for January against 65.1 in December, hitting a five-month low, according to economists. Higher payroll taxes and fiscal uncertainties are expected to contribute to the drop.

Also Tuesday, the Fed�s two-day policy meeting is due to get underway, with the central bank expected to keep policy extremely loose in hopes businesses and investors will take more risks and the economy will pick up speed. A statement is expected at 2:15 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. Read: Bernanke still chasing the elusive recovery

The Tell: What to watch on U.S. economy on Tuesday

Movers

On the corporate front, several companies will report ahead of the opening bell. Among these, Ford F �is expected to post fourth-quarter earnings of 25 cents a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Corning Inc. GLW �is likely to report earnings of 33 cents a share in the fourth quarter.

Getty Images Enlarge Image The 7-inch (17.7cm) new tablet Kindle Fire HD Family.

Investors will be watching Amazon.com Inc. AMZN �shares after Wall Street�s closing bell on Tuesday. The online-retailing major is expected to report fourth-quarter profit of 28 cents a share on revenue of $22.26 billion, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet.

VMware Inc. VMW �shares could move. The producer of virtualization software late on Monday reported fourth-quarter earnings above analysts� expectations and a weaker-than-expected first-quarter outlook. The company also said that it would cut 900 jobs and take a charge of $90 million to $110 million as it exits certain lines of business

Seagate Technology Inc. STX �could be active after those shares dropped nearly 5% after hours on Monday. The producer of disk drives reported a 13% drop in fiscal-second-quarter profit. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.38 a share compared with the FactSet-derived estimate of $1.27.

U.S. stocks finished mostly lower on Monday. After closing above 1,500 for the first time since December 2007, the Standard & Poor�s 500 index SPX �fell 2.78 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 1,500.18 on Monday. That snapped its longest winning streak in more than eight years. Read: S&P 500 snaps 8-session winning streak

In overseas markets, Asia stocks finished mostly higher, with banks leading a solid rally in Japan, though Hong Kong markets lagged. Read: Asia stocks end mostly higher; Hong Kong lags

Europe stocks nudged higher in choppy markets, led by resource stocks after upbeat German consumer-confidence data. Read: Europe stocks show upbeat trends, oil firms rise

Oil prices edged higher, while gold gained.

The dollar traded range-bound against most major currencies. Read: Dollar confined to range, but drops versus Aussie

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