NEW YORK, Jan 6 - Stocks are set to open flat to a touch lower on Tuesday as investors pause after driving the Nasdaq near 2-year highs as they wait for a reading on the vast services sector for clues on the economic recovery. Investors returned from the holidays on Monday and put their cash to work on hopes for another year of gains in the stock market. The Nasdaq hit its highest close in almost two years, while the blue-chip Dow Jones industrials and broad Standard & Poor's 500 ended at their highest level in more than 20 months. Equity index futures pointed to a lackluster open. Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures for March eased 2.10 points, while Nasdaq futures for the same month were down 1.50 points. Dow industrial futures shed 23 points. Investors will be eyeing a survey of the U.S. services industry, due at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), for hints on Friday's unemployment report for December. A strong reading on employment in the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing report would help solidify expectations for positive jobs figures in the government's monthly payrolls report on Friday. Tuesday will also offer investors a look at factory orders for November. Economists polled by Reuters are forecasting a 1.5 percent decline for November, but last Friday's blockbuster ISM manufacturing report, the most influential survey on U.S. factories, could help prop up sentiment in the face of any weakness. "We are looking at a mixed open," said Peter Cardillo, director of research at Global Partners Securities. "But if the factory orders or the ISM come in within expectations or better, that should help continue the upward movement in the market."
The dollar plumbed new depths against the euro on Tuesday, driving gold to a 15-year high and at least briefly helping stem the new year's equity rally overseas. Gold, which becomes more attractive as the dollar declines, hovered at heights not seen since 1988. Starbucks Corp. , the world's largest coffee shop chain, moved higher before the market's open following a bullish forecast after Monday's close. Starbucks said sales at company-operated stores open at least a year grew 11 percent in December, prompting it to raise its profit forecasts. Starbucks shares rose to $34.68 on the Instinet electronic brokerage system from Monday's Nasdaq close of $33.41. In other corporate news, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , the world's largest retailer, said after the close on Monday its board of directors has authorized a new $7 billion share repurchase program, replacing an earlier $5 billion plan. Shares ended at $52.12. Personal computer maker Gateway Inc. said on Monday after the close its quarterly sales would fall as much as 10 percent below its previous forecast as its move into higher-margin consumer electronics failed to shield it from pricing pressure on PCs. Shares closed at $4.98.//