Wal-Mart Results Lift Stock Futures

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NEW YORK — Wall Street looked to rebound on Tuesday after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted better-than-expected earnings and hinted that consumer spending might be stronger than expected going into the holiday shopping season. Dow futures rose 92.00, or 0.70 percent, to 13,082.00, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures added 11.80, or 0.82 percent, to 1,452.10. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 9.75, or 0.49 percent, to 1,999.25.

The world's largest retailer reported results that surpassed Wall Street projections. The results also showed that heavy discounting during the quarter did not hurt margins, which the company said bodes well for the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc. — the nation's second-largest home improvement chain — reported third-quarter results that matched Wall Street projections. The company indicated the housing slump continued to curb spending at its stores.

Investors looked to rebound from a turbulent session on Monday where the Dow Jones industrial average finished below 13,000 for the first time since August, after being up more than 100 points earlier in the day. A move higher on Tuesday would snap a four-day losing streak for the blue chip index.

Investors were also waiting for economic data on two cornerstones of the U.S. economy — housing and retail sales.

The National Association of Realtors will issue its September reading of an index that tracks pending U.S. home sales, and release an update on the housing market forecast for 2007 and 2008. The reports, due out at 3 p.m. EST, are expected to show housing hit another record low during the month.

Wall Street also will find out if shoppers will continue to loosen their purse strings despite concerns over rising food and gas prices. Two sets of weekly retail sales reports — The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS Index and the Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index — are set for release at 7:45 a.m. EDT and 8:55 a.m. EST, respectively.

Oil prices dropped in overnight trading after a key OPEC member left open the possibility the oil cartel will increase output to curb rising prices, and following the strengthening of the dollar overnight. A barrel of light sweet crude fell 83 cents to $93.79 in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.46 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.50 percent. In afternoon trading in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.05 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.31 percent, while France's CAC-40 shed 0.22 percent.

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