NEW YORK, Feb 10 - U.S. stocks were poised for a flat to slightly lower open on Tuesday as investors examined a report from Viacom that it plans to spin off its stake in Blockbuster Inc. , and looked for direction in the market. Investors are waiting for Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's planned testimony before Congress on monetary policy and the economy on Wednesday. The latest earnings period has slowed dramatically, with scorecards already in from the most closely watched companies. And with no major economic news on tap, the market is looking for direction, traders said. "The big event that the market is anticipating is Greenspan's semiannual report on monetary policy to the Congress," said Bill Strazzullo, market strategist with State Street Corp. "That will give the market a sense of where the Fed is in regards to potential interest rate increases."
News from Viacom may spark the market. The media company, which has been seeking for months to sell its controlling stake in Blockbuster, on Tuesday said it expects instead to spin off its holding in the money-losing video rental chain. Viacom, which also reported a quarterly loss, said it expects to divest its 81 percent interest in Blockbuster in a tax-free spin-off, and sees it completed by mid-2004. Blockbuster posted a quarterly loss and said it may make a special payout to shareholders in connection with Viacom's plan to spin off its majority stake in the company. Before the bell, the company's shares fell to $15.60 in active trade on INET. Equity index futures pointed to a mixed open. Standard & Poor's 500 stock index futures for March were down 1 point, while Nasdaq futures for the same month fell 14 points. Dow industrials futures slipped 0.50 points. In other earnings news, Marriott, the largest U.S. hotel operator, turned a fourth-quarter profit after a year-ago loss, saying it saw some signs of an upturn in business travel. On the economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond will release its January indexes on area manufacturing and the service sector at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). But investors are looking ahead to Thursday for reports on January retail sales, weekly jobless claims and December business inventories. January international trade figures and the preliminary February University of Michigan consumer sentiment report come on Friday. //