Futures Pointing To Early Weakness On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the release of some troubling economic data, stocks are likely to move to the downside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 39 points.

The downward momentum for the markets comes on the heels of the release of a pair of reports showing a bigger than expected drop in housing starts and a bigger than expected increase in consumer prices.

The Commerce Department released a report showing that housing starts pulled back by more than expected in the month of May after surging higher in the previous month.

The report said housing starts fell 6.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.001 million in May after jumping 12.7 percent to a rate of 1.071 million in April. Economists had expected starts to drop to a rate of 1.030 million.

A separate report from the Labor Department showing that consumer prices rose more than expected in May has raised some concerns about the outlook for inflation.

Worries about the ongoing conflict in Iraq may also generate some negative sentiment amid news that Sunni insurgents continue to advance toward Baghdad.

Nonetheless, trading activity is likely to remain somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement Wednesday afternoon.