9:45AM Wall Street opened above the flat line amid bargain hunting and merger deals.

Wall Street opened above the flat line, reflecting bargain hunting after recent weakness and merger-and-acquisition news ahead of a key report on the housing market.

Chemical company Huntsman (HUN: chart) surged 28% after division of billionaire investor Leonard Blavatnik's Access Industries agreed to buy it for $5.6 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Basell will acquire Huntsman's outstanding common stock for $25.25 per share in cash, with the price representing a 34% premium over the company's Monday closing stock price of $18.90. Again in M&A action, BlackRock (BLK: chart) added 1.6% after it agreed to buy the fund-of-funds business of Quellos Group for up to $1.7 billion.

In earnings news, homebuilder Lennar (LEN: chart) lost 1.2% after posting a quarterly loss and warning of further weakness. Kroger (KR: chart) fell 4.2%. after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and a gain in revenue. There were few premarket quotes for the supermarket operator's stock, but it should be active after the opening. Oracle (ORCL: chart) and Nike (NKE: chart) are scheduled to report after the closing bell.

In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.08, or 0.10%, to 13,365.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.49, or 0.17%, to 1,500.23, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 6.75, or 0.26%, to 2,583.83. Bonds fell slightly after the new home sales data, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rising to 5.09% from 5.08% late Monday.


9:30AM Asian markets mostly decline with China bucking the trend and gaining.

Asian markets ended mostly lower. The Nikkei 225 Average in Tokyo settled lower on weakness in brokerage house Mitsubishi, lower 2.4%, and on a decline in export-oriented stocks, which were hurt by the subprime mortgage rate concerns in the world biggest import market. Elpida Memory shed 3.3% and Fujitsu declined 1.5%. Sony, the biggest maker of game consoles in the world, lost 0.9%.

HK also ended lower as deals ahead of futures settlement this week weighed on stocks. The Hang Seng Index lost 0.3% and settled at 21,803. PICC tumbled 8% after Citigroup reduced its recommendation on the stock to sell from hold. Lenovo declined 6% after Deutsche Bank cut its rating to sell from buy and HSBC shed 0.1% on subprime mortgage rate concern.

Problems for small-cap stocks drove South Korean market lower. Small-caps suffered as country''s financial watchdog took steps to limit stock trading on credit by retail investors. Construction companies were also hit. Hyundai Engineering & Construction lost 2.3% and Daelim Industrial shed 1.4%. Seoul’s Kospi Index lost 0.5% to 1,749.

Other major markets around the region also declined. Australian S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 6,308 and Taiwan ended 0.5% lower at 8,865. In Australia, the biggest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton edged 0.4% lower, while Woodside Petroleum lost l.1% after Credit Suisse cut its rating to underperform.

China bucked the downtrend. The Shanghai Composite Index gained after declining for two sessions in a row. The index advanced 0.9% to finish at 3,973. Shipping company China Cosco Holdings rallied 93.2% in its Shanghai trading debut as traders were upbeat about its possible expansion. Huangshi Dongbei Electrical Appliance soared by the daily 10% limit.


9:00AM Market to open slightly higher ahead of housing data.

U.S. stock market looked poised for a higher opening Tuesday, with investors awaiting a report on new home sales, expected to show a decline in May from the previous month. In another report, the Conference Board is due to release its June consumer confidence index.

Among pre-market highlights, homebuilder Lennar (LEN: chart) said it swung to a Q2 loss of 244.2 million, or $1.55 per share, vs. a profit of $324.7 million, or $2 per share a year ago, blaming weaker housing market. Analysts had been expecting Q2 profit of 5 cents a share. Quarterly revenue dropped 37% to $2.88 billion from $4.58 billion in the prior-year period, beating analyst estimate of $2.58 billion. The company warned it would report a Q3 loss as well.

Investment management company BlackRock Inc. (BLK: chart) said it agreed to buy the fund of funds division of Quellos Group LLC for up to $1.7 billion. The deal, which is expected to complete around Oct. 1, will create a fund of funds operation with more than $25.4 billion in managed assets. S&P 500 futures rose 3 points at 1,516.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 4 points at 1,945.00. Dow industrial futures rose 14 points.


8:00AM NY-7:00PM Mumbai Sensex ends virtually flat in a subdued trading.

The Sensex on BSE finished 13.36 points higher, or 0.09%, at 14,501.08.