Stocks edge lower at the open

By CNNMoney staffMay 3, 2011: 9:45 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks edged lower at Tuesday’s open, as investors refocused on the economy, awaiting latest readings on auto sales and factory orders.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 9 points, or 0.1%; the S&P 500 (SPX) was down 2.2 points, or 0.2%; and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) fell 4 points, or 0.1%.

The Dow was dragged lower by shares of drug maker Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500), which reported earnings per share that beat by a penny. The drug maker reaffirmed its outlook, but investors were hoping for more. Shares fell 1.5%.

On Monday, U.S. stocks finished slightly lower, as investors reversed from their initial positive reaction to news that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

Traders and investors said it will take more to sustain a longer rally.

“Fundamentally, not much as has changed,” said Zahid Siddique, Associate Portfolio Manager of Gabelli Equity Trust. “We still have all the macro issues, whether it is the Middle East, Europe, Japan.”

Monday’s losses ended a five-day winning streak for the S&P 500 and Dow.

April was the strongest month for stocks since December. In fact, stocks have been steadily marching higher since the start of the year. But risks still remain: the economy is far from out of the woods, and, while earnings have been strong, investors remain nervous about whether companies can sustain their growth.

The government’s main jobs report for April is due out Friday, and investors will be paying close attention. Jobs remain one of the biggest — if not the biggest — drivers of the economic recovery. “It will be better but not that much higher to really move the needle,” Siddique said.

According to a CNNMoney survey, economists expect 185,000 jobs to have been added in April.

Investors need to see a positive trend in the labor market, and they haven’t seen that yet.

As the economic recovery in the U.S. battles consistently high unemployment and slowing growth, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has maintained his position that interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future — despite growing concerns of inflation.

Meanwhile, emerging markets are showing concern about inflation: India announced that it raised its key lending rate from 6.75% to 7.25%.

Economy: The Commerce Department releases data on March factory orders at 10 a.m. ET, with economists polled by Briefing.com looking for a 2.5% rise, compared with February’s 0.1% decline.

Investors will also get monthly auto sales figures from the major car makers starting around 11 a.m. ET.

Companies: Sears Holdings (SHLD, Fortune 500) issued a disappointing outlook late Monday. Shares fell more than 8% in early trading.

Credit card processor MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500) reported earnings per share share of $4.29, up 24% from the same time a year ago. The company cited an 11.1% increase in transactions. Shares were up 3%.

Media company CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) will issue its quarterly report after the closing bell.

World markets: European stocks were lower in afternoon trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%, the DAX in Germany fell 0.7% and France’s CAC 40 edged down 0.5%.

Asian markets also ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dipped 0.4%. Japan’s Nikkei was closed for holiday.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rallied against the euro and the British pound, but slipped against the Japanese yen.

Oil for June delivery fell 97 cents to $112.53 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery dropped $16.20 to $1541.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for May delivery were slid $2.59 to $43.52 an ounce.

Bonds: Bond prices were up slightly. The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged higher, pushing the yield down to 3.26% from 3.29% late Monday.