* Wal-Mart, Home Depot profits top estimates
* Housing starts, PPI, industrial data due
* Futures up: S&P 6.5 pts, Dow 46 pts, Nasdaq 10.5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates market activity, details)
By Edward Krudy
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Tuesday after bellwether retailers Wal-Mart and Home Depot
posted-better-than expected quarterly profits, but Wal-Mart
cautioned about the strength of the U.S. consumer.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N> the world's largest retailer,
said cost controls and international markets helped profits,
but sales at U.S. stores fell for the fifth consecutive quarter
as company warned that the U.S. consumer remained under
pressure. The shares rose 0.7 percent to to $50.75 in premarket
trading. For details, see []
Home Depot Inc <HD.N>, the top home improvement chain, said
profit topped estimates, also helped by cost controls, but
sales missed expectations. The shares gained 1.2 percent to
$27.70 premarket. []
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners,
said signs of life from retailers were a relief to investors
worried that consumer spending, the engine of the U.S. economy,
may start to falter. "Any clues that suggest that consumer
spending is not about to turn negative is a plus," he said.
S&P 500 futures <<SPc1> rose 6.5 points and were above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> rose 46
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> added 10.5 points.
Stocks fell sharply last week amid fears of a slowdown in
the economy. Although Wall Street finished flat on Monday, many
analysts said the trend is for stocks to likely remain lower on
concerns about the economy.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co <ANF.N> also topped estimates as
its quarterly profit was helped by discounts that lifted sales.
The retailer earned $19.5 million, or 22 cents per share.
[]
On the data front, the Producer Price Index and a report on
housing starts and permits for July are due at 8:30 a.m. EDT
(1230 GMT), while the Federal Reserve's industrial production
and capacity utilization report for July is due at 9:15 a.m.
(1315 GMT)
Also coming at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) is a report on
housing starts. Economists expected 560,000 in July versus
549,000 in the previous month.
Producer prices are expected to have risen 0.2 percent in
July after declining 0.5 percent the month before, helping to
allay fears about deflation. Industrial production is seen up
0.5 percent in July compared to 0.1 percent the prior month.
Crude oil futures were up 1 percent, rising from a
one-month low as a weaker dollar edged out concerns about the
pace of global economic recovery and U.S. petroleum inventory
data.
Japan's Nikkei average fell 0.4 percent to its lowest close
in more than eight months, with the yen holding on to gains
against the dollar as signs of weak economic growth dampened
appetite for risk. European stocks rose 0.7 percent, led by
miners that found support in steady metal prices.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
