US pre-open: Stocks seen wth modest gains
US stocks are expected to start with good gains as investors anticipate the release of a raft of economic and earnings data.
The Labor department said unemployment benefit claims rose by 6,000 last week to 371,000, which is in line with expectations.
The Philadelphia and New York Federal Reserve will announce their respective regional manufacturing readings.
Wall Street will also be watching out for April's industrial production numbers and the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index for May.
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Across the markets, the Dow Jones is expected to rise 46 points to 12,925 with the Nasdaq seen up 8 points to 2004. The S&P 500 is due to start up 4 points.
In corporate news, CBS Corp said it has agreed to buy technology news website CNet Networks for around $1.75bn.
Retailer JC Penney predicted difficult conditions for the year and said it will cut its first quarter dividends by a half. Other retailers are also due to released first quarter figures.
