Stocks set for soft open
Futures slightly higher as investors await corporate results and government data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were headed for a slightly higher open Monday, at the start of a week that includes quarterly results from several major companies and some key economic data.
At 8:40 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 were down a little, while Nasdaq-100 futures were higher, having pulled out of an earlier slump.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance. They can be used to gauge how stocks will fare when active trading begins but are not always accurate.
Stocks ended mixed Friday after a profit warning from Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) dragged shares of oil producers lower, while tech stocks held modest gains. The Dow and S&P 500 both closed lower Friday for their fourth straight week.
Investors are bracing for an onslaught of quarterly financial results this week from some of the nation's largest companies.
Ken Wattret, economist with BNP Paribas in London, said it would be difficult for the stock market to stage much of a rally as quarterly results come in because of the lackluster job market, housing market and consumer spending.
"The bigger picture is that the fundamentals remain pretty weak," said Wattret.
According to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, earnings for the companies in the S&P 500 declined 36% in the second quarter.
Among the financial institutions reporting this week: Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), JP Morgan (JPM, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500).
Several blue-chip names are also on the calendar. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500), IBM (IBM, Fortune 500), General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) and Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) all report quarterly results this week.
Reports on consumer and producer prices are due later this week, as are monthly retail sales and housing data.
Company news: On Monday, broker Charles Schwab (SCHW, Fortune 500), rail company CSX (CSX, Fortune 500) and chipmaker Novellus Systems (NVLS) report results, but the companies' results don't usually impact the broad market.
Economy: The Treasury budget comes out at 2 p.m. ET. Economists expect a deficit of $277.5 billion for June, according to a consensus from Briefing.com.
Washington: The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on preventing unfair trading by government officials at 2 p.m. ET.
Global markets: Asian stocks tumbled Monday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index ending down 2.6%. European markets were higher in midday trading.
Oil and money: The price of oil rose 51 cents to $60.40 a barrel. The dollar gained against the British pound and was slightly lower versus the yen and euro. 
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