NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The second half of 2003 begins Tuesday on Wall Street with investors finding out if one closely watched measure of manufacturing shows signs of expansion.

At 8:25 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a modest decline at the start of trading.

The Institute of Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity for June is expected to climb to 51 from 49.4 in May, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. If that holds true, the index will signal expansion in the manufacturing sector for the first time since February, just before the war to topple Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The ISM report is due after trading begins. So are the government's figures for construction spending in May, which is forecast to have risen 0.3 percent after a 0.3 percent drop in April.

The nation's automakers weigh in with June sales figures at midday. The Briefing.com consensus is for an unchanged annual auto sales rate of 5.3 million and a slightly higher truck sales rate of 7.6 million.

Investors likely will look closely at Boeing and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

For details of Monday's tepid trading, click above

Deutsche Bank Securities downgraded Boeing Tuesday to "sell" from "hold," despite news that the company is close to landing a deal for 114 jets from AirTran. Deutsche Bank said there has been some disconnect between Boeing's fundamentals and the recent performance of the stock.

Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) shares fell to $33.75 on Instinet from Monday's close of $34.32 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (MLNM: Research, Estimates) fell about 8 percent in pre-open trade Tuesday on investor disappointment with the terms of a deal with Johnson & Johnson to market recently approved cancer drug Velcade. Millennium will receive a $15 million upfront payment under terms of the agreement.

Shares of Millennium, which announced the deal after the market closed Monday, fell to $14.40 in before-hours trading Tuesday from Monday's close of $15.73 on Nasdaq.

Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, General Motors (GM: Research, Estimates) and Ford Motor (F: Research, Estimates) were slightly lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average begins the second half of 2003 at 8,985.44. Monday's 3.61-point loss still left the blue-chip indicator up 7.7 percent so far this year. The Nasdaq composite index's 2.46 decline did little to dampen a 21.5 percent increase for the year to date. (see chart for details of Monday's activity)

Asian-Pacific stocks ended higher Tuesday, with a 2.2 percent gain giving Tokyo's Nikkei index its highest close in nine months. European markets pulled back in early trading. (Check the latest on world markets)

Treasury prices gained in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.50 percent from 3.52 percent late Monday. The dollar gained against the yen, but was lower versus the euro.

Brent oil futures slipped 31 cents to $27.82 a barrel in London, where gold was little changed in early trading.