Stocks set for early retreat

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to decline at Tuesday's open, as investors prepared for a Goldman Sachs hearing and a two-day Federal Reserve meeting gets underway.

Investors will also look to readings on the housing market and health of the consumer for direction.

Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were lower ahead of the opening bell.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

U.S. markets finished little changed Monday as investors had difficulty finding momentum after pushing stocks higher for eight straight weeks.

Fed: Investors remained cautious as central bank policymakers get ready to begin get their two-day policymaking meeting Tuesday.

The Fed's closely scrutinized statement comes out at the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday afternoon. No change is expected in the historically low interest rates near zero percent, but investors will look for comments on the state of the economy and how the central bank will begin to tighten its accommodative policy.

Economy: On the economic front, investors will take in reports on home prices and consumer confidence.

The Case-Shiller index on home prices comes out at 9 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect prices rose 1.1% in February, after a decline of 0.7% the month before.

The Conference Board will release its index of consumer confidence shortly after the market opens. The index is expected to have risen to 53.5 in April from 52.5 the month prior.

Companies: Shares of Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) fell in electronic trading, despite the company's better-than-expected first-quarter results.

The automaker posted net income of $2.1 billion, or 50 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2010. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected earnings per share of 31 cents.

CIT Group, (CIT, Fortune 500) a bank specializing in small business financing, said it earned $97 million, or 49 cents per share, in the first quarter.

After the market closed Monday, Texas Instruments (TXN, Fortune 500) posted a 35% rise in first-quarter sales. The company said it earned net income of $658 million, or 52 cents per share, on sales of $3.21 billion.

Meanwhile, investors will be keeping an eye on a hearing on Capitol Hill where top executives from Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) are expected to face tough questions in relation to the civil fraud charges brought against the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

World markets: European markets fell back in morning trading. Britain's FT SE 100 was down 1.2% and the CA 40 in Paris fell 1.5%. Germany's DA edged slid 0.7%.

Asian shares finished the session mixed. The Hang Eng in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite both ended the day in negative territory but Japan's Nikkei managed to pull out a gain.

Other markets: The dollar rose against the euro and the pound, but fell versus the yen.

The price of oil fell 87 cents to $83.33 a barrel. Gold prices were up $7 to $1,154.20 an ounce.

Bond prices rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 3.78%.