STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 20 February 2013

[Demeter]

18. Stock futures flat before housing starts, PPI Gold takes another tumble, along with platinum

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-steady-before-housing-starts-ppi-2013-02-20?siteid=YAHOOB

U.S. stock-market futures were little changed Wednesday, ahead of data expected to show a small fall in housing starts and a sharp rise in wholesale prices. Later in the day, the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting will draw eyeballs.

On the corporate front, shares of Dell Inc. and Herbalife Ltd. could be active in the premarket after the companies reported results late Tuesday. MGM Resorts International is among companies due to report. Toll Brothers swung to a fiscal-first-quarter profit. One of the day’s top economic data points will be housing starts, due at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. Economists polled by MarketWatch are forecasting starts declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 914,000 in January from 954,000 in December, a month that delivered the highest level of starts since June 2008.

Also at 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department is expected to report a sharp rise in wholesale prices. Producer prices are estimated to have risen the most since last fall, by 0.4% in January, or by 0.2% excluding food and energy, according to economists.

At 2 p.m. Eastern, the Fed will release minutes from its latest meeting. Economists will be poring over the summary for comments about the risks of a third round of quantitative easing and of an eventual exit strategy for the Fed...