U.S. stocks head for flat open

U.S. stocks head for flat open

	Published : Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:53 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks headed for a moderately higher open Friday after readings on inflation and retail sales as well as a profit report from General Electric Co. indicated the economy continues to push ahead.

Stock futures showed modest movements a day after a rally fizzled on Wall Street amid concerns about price risks and lowered expectations for the Chinese Internet company Baidu.com.

Among the economic data Wall Street will be mining Friday for signals about the health of the economy, the government reported that retail sales showed a stronger-than-expected gain last month and that wholesale prices jumped in September amid an increase in food and energy costs. After the opening bell, readings are also due on business inventories and consumer sentiment.

Investors will look to a planned speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues as to whether the central bank will again lower short-term interest rates when it meets Oct. 30-31. Bernanke is slated to speak shortly before the opening bell.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 8, or 0.06 percent, to 14,094. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.00, or 0.06 percent, to 1,566.20. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 0.75, or 0.03 percent, to 2,167.50.

Bonds fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to the price, rose to 4.69 percent from 4.66 percent late Thursday.

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

Light, sweet crude rose 20 cents to $83.28 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Economic readings gave a boost to stock futures. The Commerce Department report that retail sales increased 0.6 percent September from August was double the growth economists had been expecting. The report comes a day after many national retailers reported seeing sluggish demand in September.

The Labor Department said wholesale prices rose 1.1 percent in September. Excluding often volatile categories of food and energy, wholesale prices edged up by a moderate 0.1 percent.

In corporate news, GE's third-quarter earnings rose 14 percent as its energy and transportation businesses did well. Many investors regard GE as a bellwether for the U.S. economy because of the conglomerate's array of businesses -- from finance to engines to NBC Universal.

Citigroup Inc., which like GE is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials, said Thursday it is combining its investment banking and alternative investments businesses into a single business run by a former Morgan Stanley executive. Vikram Pandit, who has been in charge of Citi's alternative investments unit since joining the company earlier this year, will lead the new Institutional Clients Group.

Oracle Corp., the business software maker, confirmed it offered to buy BEA Systems Inc. for more than $6.66 billion on Tuesday. Oracle said it sent a letter to the software maker's board offering $17 per share, a 25 percent premium over Thursday's closing price of $13.62.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.73 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.73 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.53 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.14 percent.