Stocks future lower after rally yesterday

Wall Street is heading to a lower open Tuesday Oct 21st, a day after a over 400 points rally. In the mean time investors are monitoring gradually easing credit market conditions while sifting through another batch of quarterly earnings reports. That will give some clues on where the economy is going. Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 59, or 0.63 percent, to 9,258.

Among the companies reporting Tuesday are Caterpillar Inc., Apple Inc., DuPont Co. and Pfizer Inc.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 6.50, or 0.66 percent, to 983.90, and the Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 20.00, or 1.47 percent, to 1,340.00.

Some pullback in stocks was to be expected as investors cash in profits from yesterday big gains. Nevertheless, market anxiety appears to have lessened considerably compared to the previous two crazy weeks in wall street when fears about tightening world credit and the health of the economy battered stocks everywhere across the world.

Yesterday, the Dow Jones rally more than 400 points on more signs of a reviving credit market and support from FED Chairman Ben Bernanke for further steps to aid the economy, including an additional stimulus package that could go directly to the consumers.

The three-month Treasury bill Monday yielded 1.28 percent, up from 1.12 percent late Monday. The yield fell to 0.20 percent last Wednesday, meaning investors were willing to take the slimmest of returns in exchange for a safe place to keep their money.

The dollar was higher against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.