Before the Bell

Wall Street seems to have gotten over yesterday's attack of economic jitters.
Stock futures are pointing up after some high-profile companies reported stronger-than-expected results.

But don't get too comfortable. Key economic reports covering a couple of scary subjects are due soon after the open.

Existing home sales needs no explanation; we're all painfully aware of the housing downturn. And then there are consumer confidence figures, another sore spot after Target warned on its April sales and a GM executive said the subprime mortgage mess has hurt demand for cars.

Higher oil prices are another potential drag. London Brent crude has risen past $68 a barrel on the possibility of further disruptions to Nigerian output. U.S. Treasuries are higher.

The dollar is up against the yen and steady against the euro. In bad news for Detroit, Toyota outsold General Motors in the first quarter, bringing it one step closer to unseating the U.S. company as the world's largest automaker.

Companies whose results have beaten expectations this morning include DuPont, Lockheed Martin and Whirlpool.

And Texas Instruments' shares are up in the premarket after the chip maker's results and outlook beat Wall Street's expectations late yesterday.

Lisa Von Ahn - Editor
www.Reuters.com