Early indications in the futures market suggested that stocks would continue their momentum from the previous day and open higher. News that some banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan, have applied to pay back the funds borrowed under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and better-than-expected earnings from Home Depot gave futures an early lift.
However, after the release of housing data, some of the momentum slowed and now futures point to a flat to lower open. Housing starts and building permits unexpectedly fell to record lows in April. Starts fell 12.8% from March to an annualized rate of 458,000 while permits dropped 3.3% to an annualized rate of 494,000. The upside to the April data is that the reduced level of starts and permits means there will be less competition for existing homes currently on the market.
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