US futures edge higher, economic data eyed

Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening on Wednesday ahead of a wave of economic data including durable goods orders and new home sales.

Futures on the S&P 500 are up 0.27 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.22 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are up 0.17 percent.

Investors are likely to focus on durable goods orders, new home sales, Michigan Consumer Sentiment index and initial jobless claims reports to gauge the strength of recovery in the world’s largest economy.

The Commerce Department is due to release October durable goods orders report at 8:30 am EDT. Economists expect new orders for manufactured durable goods in October to decrease by 0.30 percent compared to a 3.5 percent gain in September. Core durable goods orders, excluding transportation, are expected to increase 0.4 percent in October.

Weekly jobs report is expected to show that the initial jobless claims declined to 434,000 for the week ended Nov 20th against 439,000 of the previous week.

Meanwhile, the final reading of November's University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index is expected to remain unchanged at 69.3. Personal spending and income may probably have picked up in October.

After the opening bell, new home sales data for the month of October will be released. Economists have forecast sales of new single-family houses to be 312,000 for October against 307,000 in the previous month.

On the corporate front, Oracle Corp. shares will be in focus after a jury said rival SAP AG must pay $1.3 billion to Oracle for copyright infringement.

On Tuesday, US stocks tumbled on heightened geopolitical tensions in Korea and rising fears about the spread of euro zone debt crisis. Minutes from the last FOMC meeting which revealed disagreements among policymakers over the efficacy of the second round of quantitative easing did not help market sentiment either.

The euro declined 0.15 percent to 1.3347 against the dollar and the yen declined 0.20 percent against the greenback.

Crude oil futures rose 0.31 percent to $81.50/barrel and gold futures declined 0.17 percent.

European stock markets pared earlier losses and are currently trading higher with FTSE 100 up by 32.60 points, DAX30 up by 76.85 points and CAC 40 up by 9.63 points.