Monday, 18 May 2015

Wall Street set to open lower ahead of housing data

U.S. stocks were set to open lower on Monday after a stream of weak economic data over the last week muddied the outlook for U.S. interest rates, making investors wary of taking big positions.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange May 15, 2015. U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high for a second straight session after a ream of weak economic data.
The market will get another clue on the state of the economy at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) when the National Association of Homebuilders releases its monthly homebuilder confidence index.

If the index does not rise, as expected, stocks could rally, said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of Sarhan Capital in New York.

The U.S. economy is struggling to rebound strongly enough for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates before September, analysts have said.

Data released on Friday showed that industrial output slipped and consumer sentiment fell. The S&P gained 0.08 percent to close at a record high of 2,122.73, modestly exceeding its previous peak on April 24.

The Federal Reserve could look at a rate hike in June if the economy is strong enough, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said on Monday, although he argued for rates to start rising in early 2016.

S&P 500 e-mini futures ESc1 were down 4.25 points and their fair value - a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract - indicated a lower open.

Dow Jones industrial average e-mini futures 1YMc1 fell 22 points and Nasdaq 100 e-mini futures NQc1 lost 15.25 points.

Endo International's (ENDP.O) shares rose 1.21 percent to $86.38 in premarket trading after the generic drugmaker said it would buy privately held Par Pharmaceutical from TPG Capital in a $8.05 billion deal.


Altera (ALTR.O) rose 6.4 percent to $47.26 after the New York Post reported that the company had resumed talks with Intel (INTC.O) on a possible deal. Intel (INTC.O) was little changed.

Ann Inc (ANN.N) gained 22.5 percent to $47.44 after the company agreed to be bought by Ascena Retail (ASNA.O) for $2.15 billion in cash and stock.

Las Vegas Sands fell 1.16 percent to $50.38 after Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the stock to "neutral".

Yelp (YELP.N) fell 2.2 percent to $45.86 after Piper Jaffray cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from overweight".

Alibaba (BABA.N) fell 1.2 percent to $87.20 after a group of luxury goods makers sued the company on Friday, contending that the Chinese e-commerce giant knowingly made it possible for counterfeiters to sell their products throughout the world.

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