Stocks seen edging down at open

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A key read on inflation showed core consumer prices meeting expectations, taking stock futures off their lows before the open.

At 8:37 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were slightly lower, as major markets in Asia closed lower and European markets were down in early afternoon trading.

The headline CPI, which includes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.4 percent in February, compared to 0.3 percent expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com. The measure rose 0.2 percent in January.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2 percent - in line with forecasts - after gaining 0.3 percent the month before.

Oil prices were climbing in early trading. U.S. light crude rose 14 cents to $57.69 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury prices were lower. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 4.55 percent from 4.53 percent late Thursday. The dollar was lower against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, subprime mortgage lender Accredited Home Lenders (Charts) announced it had reached an agreement to sell $2.7 billion of loans at a substantial discount to alleviate pressures from margin calls, the latest sign of problems in the sector that has gained the attention of investors, economists and regulators in the last month.

Media conglomerate Tribune (Charts) is re-evaluating the economics of its a plan take on debt to pay a large dividend to shareholders and sell some of its assets, even as its interest in a late-breaking offer from real estate magnate Sam Zell dwindles, according to report in the Wall Street Journal.

Oil tanker company OMI Corp. (Charts) said it is looking at strategic options including a possible sale.

Japanese automaker Nissan (Charts) said Friday that CEO Carlos Ghosn would give up the duty of overseeing the company's sales and operations in the Americas as the automaker heads for its first annual profit decline in seven years.

Nissan's U.S. sales fell 5.3 percent in 2006, while other Japanese automakers gained ground, here, although those sales are up in the first two months of 2007. Ghosn is also CEO of Nissan partner Renault.

JetBlue Airways (Charts), which took a $30 million hit after it was slow to cancel flights when a storm hit the New York area Feb. 14, moved quickly to cancel 230 flights at the city's three airports Friday as it prepared for another storm.

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