Indications: U.S. stock futures edge lower amid housing focus

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By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures edged lower Tuesday, with housing in the spotlight ahead of data on prices and existing-home sales as builder KB Home reported another loss.

Moving slightly weaker as the morning progressed, S&P 500 futures fell 1.3 points to 1,160.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.5 points to 1,947.00. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2 points.

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U.S. stocks closed higher Monday as commodity producers rose, with the health sector also advancing in the wake of the passage of health reform legislation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43 points to register its ninth rise in ten sessions. The S&P 500 rose 5 points and the Nasdaq Composite climbed by nearly 21 points.

After a quiet Monday, the economics calendar includes existing-home sales for February, the FHFA house price index for January as well as testimony from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and a speech from Janet Yellen, the San Francisco Fed president who may be nominated to be the vice chairman.

Of companies in the spotlight, KB Home /quotes/comstock/13*!kbh/quotes/nls/kbh (KBH 17.44, +0.11, +0.63%) reported a $54.7 million quarterly loss as it said its backlog rose for the first time in four years.

Cruise operator Carnival /quotes/comstock/13*!ccl/quotes/nls/ccl (CCL 37.91, +0.29, +0.77%) also is due to report, and after the close, Adobe Systems /quotes/comstock/15*!adbe/quotes/nls/adbe (ADBE 34.95, +0.28, +0.81%) and Darden Restaurants /quotes/comstock/13*!dri/quotes/nls/dri (DRI 44.13, +0.48, +1.10%) will release results.

Time Warner /quotes/comstock/13*!twx/quotes/nls/twx (TWX 31.30, +0.06, +0.19%) reportedly leads the bidding for MGM with an offer of $1.5 billion.

Triumph Group /quotes/comstock/13*!tgi (TGI 61.22, +0.85, +1.41%) said it's going to buy Vought Aircraft Industries from The Carlyle Group for $1.44 billion in cash and stock.

Google /quotes/comstock/15*!goog/quotes/nls/goog (GOOG 557.50, -2.50, -0.45%) , after its decision Monday to redirect visitors from its mainland China site to its Hong Kong, scored a victory when the top European Union court ruled it was allowed to sell keyword advertising on other company's trademarks. Chinese rival Baidu.com /quotes/comstock/15*!bidu/quotes/nls/bidu (BIDU 579.72, +10.07, +1.77%) rose nearly 2% in premarket trade.

Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday as a rebound on Wall Street and a rise in oil prices helped support energy sector stocks, while Japanese exporters lost ground as the yen strengthened against the euro.

Europe stocks were generally stronger, led by metals and construction firms.

Steve Goldstein is MarketWatch's London bureau chief.