Dow component Boeing Co could weigh on the market after Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd canceled orders for 15 new Dreamliner planes and deferred orders for another 15 in a new blow to the project.

Boeing fell 2.9 percent to $41.30 before the opening bell.

As investors try to assess the market’s next move after a sharp bounce, J.P. Morgan Securities said the S&P 500 index  is likely to fall to between 830 and 875 through September, given its virtually uninterrupted rise since its March lows.

The strategists also urged investors to use the correction to build positions in cyclical stocks. The index ended Thursday at 920.26.

The broad S&P had rallied as much as 40 percent from March’s 12-year low, but the run-up has stalled as initial optimism about a stabilizing economy has been tempered by worries the recovery could be tepid. The index is up about 36 percent from the March trough.

Data on tap for the day includes a report on personal income due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) and consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. (1355 GMT).

S&P 500 futures eased 2.60 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futuresslipped 14 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were off 4.50 points.

Palm Inc could boost technology shares after it posted a narrower-than-expected loss and said demand was strong for its new Pre smartphone. Palm jumped 11.9 percent to $15.69 in premarket trade.

Stocks could also be buffeted by end-of-quarter “window dressing as portfolio managers sell stocks with big losses and buy some of the quarter’s best-performing stocks to help improve their returns.

On Thursday, stocks rose on investor relief that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke withstood a barrage of pointed questions from Congress on the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal relatively unscathed. Retailer and home builder shares led markets higher for much of the session.

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters)

Investors awaited a statement from the Federal Reserve, due at around 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), for clues on how the U.S. central bank assesses the economy.

Technology shares rose after better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales from Oracle Corp . The software maker’s stock was among the Nasdaq’s top advancers, up 7.9 percent at $21.43. Shares of IBM rose 0.7 percent to $105.17 on the New York Stock Exchange and helped left the Dow industrials.

The Fed is widely expected to leave the benchmark fed funds rate at almost zero, but investors will hone in on its statement for clues on the central bank’s economic outlook.

“The policy statement is likely to say the economy is still mired in slow growth and inflation is not a problem,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Co in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Dow Jones industrial average  was up 55.40 points, or 0.67 percent, at 8,378.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 12.69 points, or 1.42 percent, at 907.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 38.48 points, or 2.18 percent, at 1,803.40.

New orders for durable goods, which are long-lasting U.S. manufactured products such as refrigerators and washing machines, increased by a much stronger-than-expected 1.8 percent in May, and the median price of new homes hit its highest level since December, even though sales slipped, economic data showed.

“… There was a lot of concern about the economy and all of a sudden the economy shows some signs of life, and so does the market,” Bittles said.

Although stocks rose sharply from early March through May, gains have stalled recently as investors sought signs the economy is recovering enough to justify the market’s rally.

The broad S&P 500 index is up 34 percent from a 12-1/2-year closing low on March 9, it had soared as much as 40 percent during the spring rally.

NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters)

Investors snapped up shares of technology bellwethers a day after the semiconductor index <.SOXX> fell for a fifth straight day. Apple Inc led the Nasdaq higher, climbing 1.8 percent to $121.59, while the semiconductor index gained nearly 2 percent.

Stocks in defensive sectors such as consumer staples and health care also advanced, with Coca-Cola Co (KO) up 1.6 percent to $44.34 and Pfizer Inc adding 0.8 percent to $15.39.

“What we’ve seen the past three days is not that money’s leaving the market, but just flowing in that (defensive) direction and trying to find the better deal,” said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 22.86 points, or 0.28 percent, at 8,307.75. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.SPX> added 3.23 points, or 0.37 percent, at 887.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 12.78 points, or 0.77 percent, at 1,676.97.

Data showed the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose to 637,000 and was more than expected in the latest week, according to government data, pushed up by plant shutdowns related to automaker Chrysler’s bankruptcy.

In another report, the Labor Department said prices received by U.S. producers rose at a brisk pace in April, driven by a surge in food costs.

May 14 (Reuters)

U.S. stocks slipped in thin holiday trade on Friday after a streak of gains as investors nervously eyed post-Thanksgiving sales to gauge how retailers will fare this holiday season, while worries about global demand hurt technology and energy shares.

Chevron (CVX) fell 1.9 percent tracking oil lower as OPEC gathered to discuss potential further supply cuts to combat falling demand. U.S. crude dropped below $53 a barrel.

Technology shares slid after signs of a downturn in global chip demand as STMicroelectronics cut its fourth-quarter outlook. Industry sources said Taiwan companies want to slash costs. The semiconductor index shed 1.1 percent.

The U.S. stock market was closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and is trading for half the day on Friday. On Wednesday, stocks ended higher, capping the Dow’s biggest four-day percentage gain since 1932.

Stores across America hope to ring in billions of dollars in holiday sales beginning on the “Black Friday”, the day after Thanksgiving. But retailers fear a looming recession and mounting job losses could cost them dearly during the period that brings in up to 40 percent of annual sales.

“It’s a light volume day so you’re going to see some choppy trading, with so many people out,” said Robert Finkel, consumer trader at Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore.

“I’m watching how things go from a retail standpoint today – we’ve heard a lot of speculation about how bad it’s going to be, now we’ll get some proper feedback.”

The holiday weekend will test the strength of consumer sentiment, a main driver of the U.S. economy, as the country faces its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.39 points, or 0.03 percent, to 8,724.22. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 2.39 points, or 0.27 percent, at 885.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 14.26 points, or 0.93 percent, to 1,517.84.

The S&P’s retail index dipped 1.6 percent.

Chesapeake Energy Corp (CHK) fell 14.7 percent to $17.26 after a shelf offering to issue up to 50 million shares.

U.S. aluminum company Alcoa Inc’s (AA) fell after an executive said the company is not actively seeking to raise its stake in miner Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) .

There is no U.S. economic data due on Friday nor any major companies scheduled to report earnings.

For the month, the Dow is down more 6 percent, the S&P 500 down more than 8 percent and Nasdaq down 11 percent.

By Kristina Cooke
NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters)