Before the Bell

Like an army invading new territory, only to get spooked at the last minute, Wall Street keeps hitting record highs and then retreating. Today, without reinforcements in the form of big merger news, stock futures are pointing down.

Investors, still unsettled by ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan's warning yesterday about irrational exuberance over China stocks, gird themselves for data on new-home sales and durable goods orders.

Toll Brothers isn't setting a particularly promising stage for the housing numbers. The luxury home builder reported sharply lower earnings and said the market is so uncertain that it's not comfortable giving a "full" earnings forecast.

U.S. Treasury prices are higher, and the dollar is down slightly against the yen. Oil is up after a strike threat to Nigeria's hobbled output and a report by UN nuclear monitors opened the way to tougher sanctions against Iran. London Brent crude has risen above $71 a barrel.

So what does China itself make of Greenspan's pronouncement? Not much, apparently, since Shanghai's main stock index - which has nearly quadrupled in 18 months - closed down just 0.5 percent. Reactions among investors there ranged from skepticism to conspiracy theories

Lisa Von Ahn - Editor
www.reuters.com