Indications: U.S. futures lower after economic data

By Polya Lesova and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures pointed to an opening dip for Wall Street on Tuesday after data showed retail sales increased less than expected in January and increases in Chinese and U.K. inflation.

Stock-index futures furthered mild declines after the Commerce Department reported retail sales last month climbed 0.3%, the softest reading since the middle of 2010.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\h11 (DJH11 12,210, -14.00, -0.11%)  fell 12 points to 12,212 and S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\h11 (SPH11 1,325, -2.80, -0.21%)   were off 2 points at 1,325.70.

Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\h11 (NDH11 2,380, -1.75, -0.07%)  were down 3.5 points at 2,378.25.

China inflation milder than expected

China's January inflation will continue to keep Beijing on tightening watch.

A separate report had the Empire State manufacturing survey rising to 15.4 in February from 11.9 in January.

After the market opens, at 10 a.m. Eastern, business inventories for December and the NAHB housing market index for February are due.

In Asia overnight, stock markets ended mixed after data showed that Chinese consumer inflation rose 4.9% in January from a year earlier which was below forecasts for a 5.4% rise.

And in the U.K. annual consumer price inflation increased to 4% in January from 3.7% in December.

“The markets are for the moment taking it [the inflation data] in stride,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

“Short-term inflation is actually positive for equities since interest rates in Europe and here in the U.S. are not going up,” he said. “With rates being so low, top-line inflation lures money into the equity markets.”

The inflation data buoyed gold, which is seen as a hedge against inflation. Gold futures rose $10.60 to $1,375.60 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex.

In other economic news, gross domestic product in the euro zone expanded by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the preceding three months, Eurostat reported Tuesday.

Separately, Germany’s ZEW indicator of economic sentiment edged higher in February, suggesting market participants are still confident about the recovery in Europe’s biggest economy.

On the corporate front, Qwest Communications International Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!q/quotes/nls/q (Q 7.31, -0.11, -1.48%)  said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss from a profit in the year-earlier period.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!siri/quotes/nls/siri (SIRI 1.74, -0.09, -4.92%)  is also scheduled to report quarterly results.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext /quotes/comstock/13*!nyx/quotes/nls/nyx (NYX 38.43, -1.02, -2.59%)  reportedly plan to release a statement Tuesday regarding their merger negotiations and hold a press conference, Reuters said. Shares of NYSE Euronext were down over 4% in preopen trading after a temporary halt.

Polya Lesova is chief of MarketWatch’s London bureau. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.

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NYSE Arca Morning Update - 08:30:00 ET

NYSE Arca Morning Update for Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011 :

STOCKS TRADING ON NYSE Arca AT A PRICE 15% OR MORE AWAY FROM
THE PREVIOUS TRADE DAY'S CONSOLIDATED CLOSE PRICE (AS OF 08:30:00 ET)

Stock Monday's Close Current Price Pct Change Current NYSE ARCA Vol
LLNW $6.45 $8.15 26.4% 351,072
NSIT $14.61 $17.37 18.9% 285

10 MOST ACTIVE STOCKS ON NYSE ARCA AS OF 08:30:00 ET

BASED ON DOLLARS TRADED: | BASED ON SHARES TRADED:
Stock $ Volume Price PctChg | Stock Share Vol Price PctChg
SPY $119999962 $133.14 ( 0.2%) | NLY 2,538,069 $17.45 ( 2.7%)
QQQQ $72,808,258 $58.48 ( 0.2%) | SIRI 2,021,956 $1.70 ( 6.6%)
NLY $44,292,108 $17.45 ( 2.7%) | C 1,694,271 $4.91 0.1%
NFLX $15,668,255 $244.50 ( 1.2%) | QQQQ 1,245,337 $58.48 ( 0.2%)
GLD $9,401,322 $134.19 0.9% | SPY 901,606 $133.14 ( 0.2%)
C $8,319,758 $4.91 0.1% | NOK 668,973 $8.90 0.8%
AAPL $7,788,069 $359.93 0.2% | LLNW 351,072 $8.15 26.4%
MT $7,425,176 $37.24 ( 0.8%) | BAC 260,235 $14.86 ( 0.3%)
NOK $5,982,307 $8.90 0.8% | MT 199,480 $37.24 ( 0.8%)
X $5,274,990 $62.00 2.7% | BP 105,679 $46.95 0.6%

Price changes may be affected by symbol splits and dividends.

Consolidated close price is the last print (excluding prints with trade
conditions) prior to 4PM ET.

This information is also updated on our web page every morning at 8:35ET:
http://www.tradearca.com/data/volume/daily_update.asp

This material is for informational purposes only.
NYSE Euronext and its affiliates ("NYSE Arca") are not soliciting any action based upon it.
This material is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal.
Any opinions expressed in this material are NYSE Arca opinions only.
NYSE Arca undertakes no obligation to update any of the information contained in this material in light of new information or future events.
THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED BY NYSE ARCA "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
NYSE ARCA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY, TITLE, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS TO THIS MATERIAL.
IN NO EVENT SHALL NYSE ARCA BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOST PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES AND DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE USE
OF THIS MATERIAL, ANY DELAY OR INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE OR OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN THE MATERIAL) WITH RESPECT TO THIS MATERIAL.

Copyright [2011] by NYSE Euronext. All rights reserved. Reproduction and redistribution prohibited without prior express consent.

Indications: U.S. futures steady ahead of economic data

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. futures straddled the flat line Tuesday, as traders awaited a string of economic data including retail sales and manufacturing activity in the New York area.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11 points to 12,235 and S&P 500 futures were nearly unchanged at 1,328.50.

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2 points to 2,383.70.

China inflation milder than expected

China's January inflation will continue to keep Beijing on tightening watch.

The economic calendar is very busy on Tuesday. Data on January retail sales and the Empire State manufacturing survey for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.

After the market opens, at 10 a.m. Eastern, business inventories for December and the NAHB housing market index for February are due.

Meanwhile, investors digested economic reports from Europe and Asia.

Gross domestic product in the euro zone expanded by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the preceding three months, Eurostat reported Tuesday.

Separately, Germany’s ZEW indicator of economic sentiment edged higher in February, suggesting market participants are still confident about the recovery in Europe’s biggest economy.

And in the U.K., data showed that annual consumer price inflation rose to 4% in January, weighing on the British pound, which was recently at $1.6032 compared with $1.6093 before the data.

The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 78.42, -0.19, -0.25%) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, dropped 0.2% to 78.453.

Gold futures rose $7.70 to $1,372.80 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex.

In Asia, stock markets ended mixed after the release of data showing that Chinese consumer inflation rose more slowly than expected in January.

On the corporate front, Qwest Communications International Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!q/quotes/nls/q (Q 7.42, +0.00, +0.01%)  and Sirius XM Radio Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!siri/quotes/nls/siri (SIRI 1.83, -0.01, -0.54%)  are scheduled to report quarterly results.

In premarket trading, shares of Barclays PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!bcs/quotes/nls/bcs (BCS 19.96, -0.23, -1.14%)   /quotes/comstock/23s!a:barc (UK:BARC 322.25, +11.50, +3.70%)  rose 3.5% after the banking giant reported earnings above market expectations.

Shares of Nokia Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!nok/quotes/nls/nok (NOK 8.84, -0.52, -5.56%)   /quotes/comstock/64h!e3:o-nok1v-eur (FI:NOK1V 6.70, +0.07, +0.98%)  gained 2.2% in premarket trading. The mobile-phone giant’s shares fell sharply in the previous two sessions after it announced a partnership with Microsoft Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!msft/quotes/nls/msft (MSFT 27.23, -0.02, -0.07%) .

Polya Lesova is chief of MarketWatch’s London bureau.

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