Stock futures flat ahead of data; Home Depot rises

KEN SWEET
FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, file photo, trader Gregory Rowe, center, works at the post of specialist Joseph Mastrolia, left, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stocks were mostly lower Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, amid jitters about China's housing market and weakness in the country's currency. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock futures were pointing to a mixed open on Wall Street as investors waited for a consumer-related economic report out later this morning.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 11 points at 16,175 as of 9:05 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index futures lost two points to 1,844.30 and the Nasdaq futures were unchanged at 3,688.

HOME DEPOT: The nation's largest home improvement chain was up 2 percent in pre-market trading. While Home Depot reported a decline in profits from a year earlier, the results still beat analysts' expectations. The company also raised its quarterly dividend.

DATA ON TAP: Investors will get a report on consumer confidence for February at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists polled by FactSet expect a reading of 80.1, down from January's reading of 80.7. Consumer confidence is important because consumer spending makes up roughly two thirds of all U.S. economic activity.

PUSHING BACK TO RECORD TERRITORY: The S&P 500 barely missed hitting a record on Monday. It closed at 1,847.61, less than a point from its all-time record close of 1,848.38 it set on Jan. 15. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are in positive territory for 2014, while the Dow is still down around 2 percent for the year.