* North Korea missile test unsettles investors
* Morgan Stanley upgrades Apple
* GE CEO sees company growth "harder to come by"
* Futures: Dow off 10 pts; S&P off 2.00 pts, Nasdaq off
9.75 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Adds General Electric, updates prices)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
pointed to a flat to lower open on Tuesday after a long weekend
as tensions surrounding North Korea unsettled investors and
hopes for a quick economic recovery in the near-term ebbed.
North Korea, despite international condemnation of its
latest nuclear test, fired two more short-range missile off its
east coast on Tuesday and accused the U.S. of plotting against
its government. For details, see []
"Right now the keys to the market are going to come down to
the economy and how we navigate our way through the next set of
concerns, which include the dollar, heightened geopolitical
tensions and rising oil," said Andre Bakhos, president of
Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey.
"The concern is that the market is facing 4 down days and
investors are questioning the recent strength and resiliency
and ability of the market to come out of this mini-slump."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> fell 2.00 points and were below 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> shed 10
points, while Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures were off 9.75 points.
U.S. oil prices for July delivery <CLc1> fell $1.03 to
$60.64 a barrel, pressured by a firmer U.S. dollar and
expectations that an OPEC meeting later this week could keep
the producer group's output unchanged. Chevron Corp <CVX.N>
fell 0.7 percent to $63.97 while Exxon Mobil Corp slid 0.5
percent to $68.50 in premarket trade.
Apple Inc <AAPL.O> shares rose 2.7 percent to $125.70 in
premarket trade after Morgan Stanley upgraded the iPhone maker
to "overweight," saying the company is emerging as the clear
leader in the battle over mobile Internet and will see
iPhone-driven earnings growth over the next two years.
[]
General Electric Co <GE.N> shares was at $13.10 in
premarket trading after it dipped 0.2 percent to $13.07 in
premarket trade after chief executive Jeff Immelt said the
company's growth will be "harder to come by" in coming years
given the prospect the global economy may grow at a slower pace
once it emerges from the recession. []
European shares slipped by midday, led lower by financials
and commodity stocks after a reported missile launch by North
Korea unsettled markets and crude oil and metals prices
retreated. []
Asian shares fell on Tuesday as a report of fresh missile
tests by North Korea added to market tensions at a time when
investors are questioning whether they are too optimistic about
the global economic outlook. []
Investors will also keep a close eye on the fixed income
front. The benchmark U.S. Treasury debt price rose in Asian
trade on Tuesday, with the yield edging away from last week's
six-month peak, while the market braced for $101 billion worth
of government debt sales this week.
The U.S. Treasury sells $40 billion of two-year notes on
Tuesday, $35 billion of five-year debt on Wednesday and $26
billion of seven-year paper on Thursday, matching a record for
weekly bond sales set in April.
On the economic front, investors were bracing for key U.S.
consumer confidence data for May, due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) and
the Case Shiller housing price index for March 9 a.m. (1300
GMT).
U.S. stocks retreated for a fourth session on Friday on
persistent concerns over the U.S. budget deficit, with U.S.
Treasuries and the dollar losing ground.
Despite four straight days of declines for the broad S&P
500, stocks finished moderately higher for the week with the
blue-chip Dow average up 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 up 0.5
percent and the Nasdaq up 0.7 percent.
Since reaching a low in early March, the Dow has gained 28
percent and the S&P 500 has risen 33 percent.
