Stocks poised to rebound after selloff

Stocks poised to rebound after selloff

	Published : Wed, 25 Jul 2007 12:58 By : Agencies Print this Story

NEW YORK (AP) - Stock prices edged toward a higher opening Wednesday as investors prepared for another barrage of corporate earnings reports, and took positions ahead of key housing data.

A move higher would point to stability in the market after Wall Street tumbled Tuesday, taking the Dow Jones industrials down more than 200 points. Investors were rattled by disappointing earnings and renewed concerns about the mortgage lending market.

On Wednesday, Wall Street will look for direction from key housing data when the National Association of Realtors reports on existing home sales for June. The market anticipates that 5.85 million homes were resold in June, down from 5.99 million in May, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed as of Friday by Thomson Financial.

Wall Street is also weighing a report that showed mortgage applications fell for the first time in four weeks, hitting a five-month low as demand wanes. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications for the week ended July 20 fell 3.6 percent to 609.0 -- the lowest level since the week ended Feb. 16.

The market's drop on Tuesday was in part pinned on Countrywide Financial Corp., which missed analysts' expectations for second-quarter profit. The Calabasas, Calif.-based company also warned the struggling industry will grow even worse this year.

Investors will also await earnings reports from dozens of top companies, many of them members of the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Companies scheduled to report include E-Trade Financial Corp., ConocoPhillips, and Apple Inc.

Dow futures expiring in September rose 21, or 0.09 percent, to 13,834, while Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 4.20, or 0.28 percent, to 1,526.70. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 4.00, or 0.20 percent, to 2,029.50.

In corporate news, Amazon.com Inc. is expected to spike in trading after the Web retailer said its second-quarter profit more than tripled thanks to strong sales of books, music and electronics worldwide.

Xerox Corp., the world's biggest supplier of office printers, reported profit during the second quarter edged higher on stronger demand for printing supplies and color equipment. Also, health insurer WellPoint Inc. said profits rose 11 percent in the second quarter as the company reigned in expenses and premiums jumped 8 percent.

Corning Inc. reported second-quarter profit slipped on charges to settle asbestos litigation, but adjusted earnings topped Wall Street expectations on strong demand for liquid crystal display technology used in flat-screen televisions.

Wall Street is still awaiting reports from a number of major U.S. companies. ConocoPhillips is expected to report earnings of $2.66 per share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial. E-Trade, which reports after the closing bell, is expected to post a profit of 40 cents per share.

Oil prices dropped again following a steep decline in the previous session, and traders awaited the release of U.S. government data expected to show an increase in refinery utilization. Light, sweet crude for September delivery dropped 22 cents to $73.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.80 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.06 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.81 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.52 percent.