Stocks set to welcome in '08

Futures point to positive open on first trading day of the year; Fed minutes, readings on construction spending and manufacturing on tap.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street traders are set to start returning to work Wednesday, and they'll have no shortage of economic readings to sift through on the first trading day of 2008.
Stock futures were higher in early trading, indicating a strong start ahead of a number of key economic reports.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's Dec. 11 meeting are due at 2 p.m. ET, with investors and economists looking for clues as to what the Fed might do with rates at upcoming meetings. The markets sold off after the Dec. 11 meeting as many investors had been looking for a half-point cut rather than the quarter-point cut that was announced.
A closely watched December survey of manufacturing executives from the Institute of Supply Management is due at 10 a.m. ET, as is a government report on construction spending in November.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the ISM index slipped to 50.5 from a 50.8 reading in November. A reading of 50 is the tipping point between growth or contraction in the sector, and a 50.5 reading would be the weakest reading since January and the sixth straight month of slower growth.
Construction spending, which has been supported by strong non-residential construction in the face of the housing slump, is forecast to see a 0.4 percent decline in November, following a 0.8 percent drop in October.
The busy economic calendar comes as Wall Street gets back to business after the holiday break. Stock markets were closed Tuesday for New Year's.
Stocks closed out 2007 with gains. The Dow gained 6.4 percent, the S&P 500 added 3.5 percent and the Nasdaq rose 9.8 percent. But the last few months have been marked by volatility, and the new year brings plenty of uncertainty about the housing slump and its effect on the broader U.S. economy.
Overseas markets kicked off 2008 with a mixed start. In Asia, markets in Hong Kong and South Korea ended lower. Japanese markets were closed. European stocks were higher in midday trading, boosted by merger chatter.
Oil prices rose in early trading on supply worries. A barrel of light sweet crude for February delivery rose $1.14 to $97.12 in electronic trading.
In corporate news, a federal judge ordered wireless giant Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500) to stop selling data chips that infringe on patents belonging to its smaller rival Broadcom (BRCM), in a ruling late Monday. Qualcomm shares fell 0.4 percent in Frankfurt trading early Wednesday, while Broadcom shares edged higher.
PHH Corp (PHH) said early Tuesday that that it was pulling the plug on the deal to be purchased by General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) and private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX). Under the merger announced March 15, General Electric Capital Corp. was to get the fleet management business, while PHH's mortgage origination business was to be folded into Blackstone's mortgage operations. But that Blackstone unit informed PHH Corp that it wasn't able to obtain the requisite debt financing, according to PHH's statement.
Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) share of the personal computer market grew sharply in December due to strong holiday sales of MacBooks, according to a survey released Tuesday from Net Applications. The survey estimated Apple now has 7.3 percent of the market, up from 6.8 percent in November. The survey also reported gains for Apple's iPhone.
Centro Properties Group (CEOPF), an Australian firm that owns more than 600 U.S. retail properties, mostly strip malls, announced early Wednesday it is putting itself up for sale. The firm said a recently announced strategic review had resulted in significant unsolicited interest of its assets from a range of potential buyers.