U.S. AVERAGES

A slightly weaker market opening is expected on Tuesday as persistently high oil prices remained above $65 a barrel on concerns of global supply disruptions despite the recovering output from Ecuador and a modest increase in U.S. crude stocks.

WPT Enterprises Inc., the producer of the World Poker Tour television show, missed Wall Street estimates by reporting a second-quarter loss and forecasted third-quarter revenue below analysts’ expectations.

Williams-Sonoma is slated to report its second-quarter earnings Tuesday. Analysts estimate the retailer to earn 25 cents a share.

Also reporting quarterly results today are lawn-mower and sprinkler-systems maker Toro Co. and software and consulting firm Wind River Systems.

Myriad Genetics is expected to post a 33 cents a share loss for its fiscal fourth-quarter.

Shares of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. (HET: chart) will be closely watched today after the world's No.1 casino operator announced on Monday that it plans to buy Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for $370 million.

The No. 2 U.S. discount retail chain Target Corp. (TGT: chart) will also be in the spotlight after forecasting on Monday that its August sales at stores open at least one year are likely to be near the upper end of its earlier issued guidance.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 added 20.42 points, 0.16%, at 12,472.93, but couldn't hold the 12,500 level it broke in the morning. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.7%, the Seoul Composite fell 0.1% and Australia's All Ordinaries dropped 0.25%.

European stocks declined on Tuesday, dragged down by a narrowly higher close on U.S. equity markets and oil prices moving toward $66 a barrel, though the higher German ZEW economic-sentiment indicator offered some support.

The German DAX 30 lost 0.67% at 4,908, reviving from daily lows, after the forward-looking German ZEW indicator of economic sentiment recorded a reading of 50, up vs. 37 in July and above views of an increase to 38.8.

Other major European indices were also lower, with the French CAC 40 dropping 0.80% to 4,449 points and the British FTSE 100 down 0.33% at 5,300.

ECONOMIC NEWS

On the economic news front, at 10 a.m. ET the National Association of Realtors is sxheduled to release its monthly report on existing home sales. Economists expect that those sales declined slightly to a 7.25 million annual pace versus the record 7.33 million sales rate set in June.

ENERGY, METALS AND CURRENCIES MARKETS

Oil prices edged above the $65 a barrel mark. The October light crude futures contract for NYMEX advanced 16 cents to $65.81 a barrel in electronic trading early Monday, while the October contract for Brent crude was up 4 cents to $64.54.

On Tuesday the euro advanced against the U.S. dollar, which had rallied last week fueled by strong U.S. economic reports and expectations of higher interest rates. The euro was quoted at $1.22 in early European trading, up vs. $1.22 in late New York trading Monday.

The British pound declined, dropping slightly to $1.7992 vs. $1.7998 Monday, and the dollar gained ground vs. the Japanese yen, trading at 109.95 yen vs. 109.76, shrugging off reports that Japanese economic activity in June was up for the first time in two months on gains in industrial production and construction.

The Energy Department reported Monday that the retail price of gasoline climbed more than 6 cents last week to an average $2.61 a gallon nationwide, hitting a new record. The previous record high was $2.55 per gallon, set the previous week. Adjusting for inflation, retail gasoline prices topped $3 a gallon in March 1980.

In London gold was quoted at $439.85 bid per troy ounce, up vs. $438.10 on Monday. In Zurich, the bid price was $439.75, down vs. $440.15. Gold closed at $440.15 in Hong Kong.