U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

Stock futures are still trading in the negative territory as crude-oil prices increased $3 to $71 a barrel. Investors are concerned that tight oil supplies could be further constraint after damages had been assessed. According to estimates, It killed at least 55 people and caused insured losses of approximately $26 billion.
Stocks failed to be supported by surprisingly high consumer-confidence numbers for August.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Consumer confidence jumped unexpectedly to 105.6 in August, the Conference Board said, from a revised 103.6 in July. That surprised many economists, who were expecting confidence to fall amid the jump in oil prices over the last month.

A separate report also showed that factory orders fell 1.9 percent in July, a smaller-than-expected decline.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

The advance in oil prices pushed energy stocks up more than 2.4%. Valero Energy and Chesapeake Energy are among the gainers. McDermott rose more than 25% on news that it has agreed to terms of a revised settlement agreement in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings involving The Babcock & Wilcox Co. Exxon Mobil Corp.rose 45 cents to $58.87; Chevron Corp. rose 75 cents to $60.26; ConocoPhillips rose 99 cents to $64.06.

Housing stocks reversed most of their early advances and are now enjoying only partial gains.

The airline and retail sectors are among the biggest decliners of the day, with losses of 3.1% and 2.2% respectively. AMR Corp. fell 56 cents to $12.84; Northwest Airlines Corp. fell 19 cents to $5 and Delta Air Lines fell 12 cents to $1.15. Wal-Mart reached a new 52-week low on concerns about the damage to its stores from Hurricane Katrina.

Insurance stocks were also among the decliners on hurricane damages assessment. Hartford Financial Services Group fell 49 cents to $72.85; Allstate Corp. fell 65 cents to $56.53 and MetLife Inc. fell 68 cents to $48.44.

The gaming sector fell 1.6% as casino operators assessed the damage to their Gulf Coast properties. Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. fell 51 cents to $21.56. Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. fell 44 cents to $23.

In company news

Boeing fell 80 cents to $66.78 after labor leaders warned of a possible strike at the Chicago plane manufacturer. Boeing submitted a revised offer to the union late Monday that increases payments to workers but that union leaders said did not do enough to address key issues.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. fell $3.58 to $54.15. The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance for income between $3.10 and $3.30 per share on projected sales of about $2.7 billion.

Ford Motor Co. fell 5 cents to $9.72 after announcing plans to fire 400 U.S. employees by the end of 2005 as part of a restructuring plan.

Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third-largest wireless outfit, fell 36 cents to $25.22 after it confirmed it will purchase affiliates Gulf Coast Wireless and IWO Holdings Inc.

ECONOMIC NEWS
Consumer confidence jumped unexpectedly to 105.6 in August, the Conference Board said, from a revised 103.6 in July. That surprised many economists, who were expecting confidence to fall amid the jump in oil prices over the last month.

A separate report also showed that factory orders fell 1.9 percent in July, a smaller-than-expected decline.