NEW YORK, Dec 30 - U.S. stocks are headed for a flat opening on Tuesday, as investors lock in gains from Monday's big rally and await a trio of economic reports that will provide more clues about the economy. "The day after the Dow moves up 125 points and all 30 components end higher, you can't sustain that kind of pace and naturally you're going to hit some selling," said Larry Wachtel, senior vice president at Prudential Securities. However, "the history of December has been sluggish opens giving way to strong closings, and I see no change in that pattern," Wachtel said. Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures hovered around the unchanged mark in early morning, while Nasdaq futures were up 4.5 points. Dow industrials futures were down 8 points. On the economics front, The Conference Board, a private research group, will release its monthly gauge of consumer confidence. Economists polled by expect a median reading of 91.5 for December, compared with 91.7 in November.
Investors are also anticipating the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index, a closely watched barometer of U.S. Midwest business activity. Economists have forecast a reading of 62.2 in December, down slightly from 64.1 in November, which marked the region's best showing in more than eight years. Additionally, the National Association of Realtors will release existing home sales for November. All three economic indicators are due at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). Among stocks making headlines, Boeing Co. rose slightly before the opening bell on news that it received a large order for new aircraft from the U.S. Navy. The Navy said late Monday it ordered 210 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet attack jets worth $8.5 billion from Boeing, and would also pay the company $979 million more to develop the EA-18G, an electronic attack jet carrying jamming equipment and defensive missiles.
Stocks rallied on Monday, pushing all three major market gauges to their highest closing levels of 2003, as investors bet on an upbeat start to the new year. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrials <.DJI> gained 125.33 points, or 1.21 percent, to 10,450.00, the index's highest level since March 2002. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 <.SPX> advanced 13.59 points, or 1.24 percent, to 1,109.48, its highest point since April 2002. The tech-loaded Nasdaq Composite rose 33.34 points, or 1.69 percent, to 2,006.48, its highest finish since January 2002. In overseas action, European shares rose for a sixth straight session, retreating from fresh peaks for the year as investors made final changes to their stock holdings. The pan-European benchmark FTSE Eurotop 300 index <.FTEU3> ticked up 0.42 percent to 957 points, while the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index <.STOXX50E> gained 0.7 percent to 2,762 points. Tuesday is the year's last full day of stock trading on most European exchanges, as many will shut all day Wednesday or close early ahead of Thursday's New Year market holiday. Japanese stocks rallied on Tuesday to end 2003 at an eight-week high, as investors bought blue chips following Wall Street's climb. The benchmark Nikkei <.N225> ended a shortened session up 1.68 percent or 176.02 points at 10,676.64, its highest finish since Nov. 5. The broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> rose 1.70 percent to 1,043.69, for a gain of 24 percent during the year. Japan's stock exchange is closed until Jan. 5 for the New Year holiday.//