Stocks poised for early pop
U.S. futures rally on better-than-expected retail sales report and producer prices index before the markets open.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks appeared headed for a higher open Tuesday as investors reacted to a stronger-than-expected government report on August retail sales and a jump in the producer prices index.
At 8:48 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were higher.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
On Monday, stocks edged higher as investors appeared to be on hold to determine if a recent mild runup should continue. The Dow gained 21 points and both the Nasdaq and S&P advanced more than 0.5%.
Before the sales report came out, David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Markets in London, said that recent investor enthusiasm has kept markets out of the slump.
"Whenever we see weakness, people jump in and start buying," said Jones.
Tuesday is the first anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bank of America's deal to acquire Merrill Lynch. President Obama marked the occasion on Wall Street Monday with a speech urging support for his regulatory reform proposals.
Economy: A government report said that retail sales jumped 2.7% in August, much stronger than the 2% increase that was forecast by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
The report reflects the impact of the Cash for Clunkers program that lifted the auto industry, but it also shows that non-auto sales were also strong. Ex-auto sales rose 1.1% in August, better than the 0.4% increase that was expected by Briefing.com consensus.
The Labor Department also released its monthly reading on wholesale inflation. Producer prices rose 1.7% in August, more than double the expectations of Briefing.com consensus. More than 85% of that gain was due to higher gasoline prices.
The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, edged up 0.2%, which was double the Briefing.com consensus estimate.
After the open, the government issues its July report on business inventories, expected to show a 0.9% decline.
Companies: Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) reported that its same-store sales fell 3.9% in the second quarter, compared to the year-ago quarter.
The sales report came as the electronics retailer reported a quarterly profit that missed forecasts by 5 cents a share, although revenue surged 12.5% to $11 billion during the three-month period ended Aug. 29.
Best Buy also raised guidance for the fiscal year ending Feb. 27, 2010. Best Buy raised the bottom of its earnings range to $2.70 to $3 per share, excluding restructuring charges. With charges, the company expects an earnings range of $2.64 to $2.94 per share.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) is looking to reduce the U.S. government's 34% stake in the banking company that was acquired as part of the bailout, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) is introducing a new version of its Zune music player in an effort to make a dent into Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500)'s dominance of the sector through its iPod devices.
Other markets: Asian stocks ended mixed Tuesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei up 0.2%. European indexes were mixed in midday trading.
Oil jumped 89 cents to $69.75 a barrel. Gold slipped below the $1,000 mark, down $2.10 to $999 an ounce.
The dollar was up against the yen, the euro and the pound. 
