NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tumbled Wednesday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 falling for a third straight session, after a weaker-than-expected retail sales report gave investors a reason to retreat.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 184 points, or 2.2%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index fell 24 points, or 2.7%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) dropped 52 points, or 3%.

The worse-than-expected retail sales dragged on stocks, said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. He said investors were also a little jittery about the bevy of banks rushing to raise capital to pay back the government bailout money they received.

"We were due for a pause here and with questions about the consumer and the banks, investors are finding an excuse to take some profits," he said.

Stocks seesawed Tuesday as investors showed caution after a roughly 2-month rally that propelled all the major stock gauges by at least 30%. That hesitation remained in place Wednesday.

Stocks have risen since early March on bets that the economy is close to turning a corner.

"I think the momentum has gotten a little ahead of itself," said Robert Loest, portfolio manager at Integrity Funds. "We've run out of good news for the time being."

He said that later in the year, there will be more positives for investors to key off of, as fourth-quarter earnings are bound to show improvement versus abysmal results a year earlier. Additionally, the impact of the government putting trillions of dollars into the economy will have an impact.

Thursday brings the government's April Producer Price index and the weekly jobless claims index. Also Thursday, Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500) is due to report quarterly results before the start of trade. Wal-Mart is expected to have earned 77 cents per share versus 76 cents a year earlier.

Economy: Retail sales fell 0.4% in April, according to a report from the Commerce Department released before the market open. Sales were expected to hold steady, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Sales fell a revised 1.3% in March.

Sales excluding volatile autos fell 0.5% in April, after dropping 1.2% in the previous month. Economists forecasts had called for a rise of 0.2%.

The number of U.S. households facing foreclosure jumped 32% in April versus a year ago, according to RealtyTrac. More than 342,000 homes received notices of default in the month, up 1% from March.

In other economic news, March business inventories fell 1% after slipping 1.4% in the previous month. Economists expected inventories to have dropped 1.1%.

Company news: AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) shares declined as the company's CEO discussed restructuring plans at a House hearing about how the company plans to pay back billions in government loans. Shares rose 11.6%.

In other news, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) was fined a record $1.45 billion by the European Union for allegedly anti competitive practices, a decision the chipmaker plans to appeal. Shares fell.

Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) posted a $9.9 billion quarterly loss after the market close Tuesday and also asked the government for another $6.1 billion in aid. Shares fell 7%.

GM (GM, Fortune 500) shares started the day with another drop on concerns that it will have to file for bankruptcy, with the stock touching $1 per share, the lowest level since 1933. But GM rallied in the afternoon to finish 6 cents higher at $1.21.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners eight to one on volume of 1.76 billion shares. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners beat advancers by almost six to one on volume of 2.42 billion shares.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.11% from 3.17% Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Other markets: In global trading, Asian markets ended mixed, while European markets ended lower.

In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery fell 83 cents to settle at $58.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for June delivery climbed $2 to settle at $925.90 an ounce. 

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks appeared set for a mildly positive open Wednesday, ahead of a key reading on retail sales.

At 4:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were slightly higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

Trading on Wall Street was choppy Tuesday, as investors expressed caution after the recent rally. The Dow ended the session higher while the Nasdaq faltered.

Retail: Investors may find direction Wednesday from a reading on April retail sales. The report from the U.S. Commerce Department is due to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Economy: Also on the economic calendar is a reading on import and export prices, also due out at 8:30 a.m. ET.

AIG: At 10 a.m. ET, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing at which AIG's (AIG, Fortune 500) chief executive will outline the insurer's plan for paying back billions of taxpayer dollars.

Executive pay: The Obama administration reportedly is considering a major revamp of executive pay practices at financial firms that would apply to companies that haven't received government bailout funds.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times both said the administration has begun serious talks about the matter.

Companies: After U.S. markets closed Tuesday, Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) posted a $9.9 billion quarterly loss and asked the government for another $6.1 billion in aid.

Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) CEO Paul Otellini told investors late Tuesday that so far second-quarter orders have been better than expected.

World markets: In Asia, shares mostly edged lower. Japan's Nikkei, however, eked out slight gains. European markets were narrowly higher in morning trading. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Blue chips gained and the Nasdaq declined in a mixed Tuesday session on Wall Street as investors showed caution after the recent rally and amid ongoing worries about banks and autos.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 50 points, or 0.6%.

The S&P 500 (SPX) index ended just below unchanged. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 15 points, or 0.9%.

Stocks slumped through the early afternoon Tuesday, but managed to cut some losses in the last hour.

Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500), Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) and Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) were among the stocks lifting the Dow.

Stocks slipped Monday, with the Dow posting its worst day in 3 weeks, as the two-month old stock rally hit a wall. All three major gauges have risen more than 30% since hitting multi-year lows on March 9. Bets that the economy and financial sector are close to stabilizing have fueled the gains.

But after such a big run, stocks were vulnerable to a bit of a pullback, said John Wilson, chief technical strategist at Morgan Keegan.

"With everyone expecting a big correction, I don't think we'll see it," he said. "We'll probably just see a few more down days but not something more substantial."

He said the bank stocks have gotten a little ahead of themselves and are probably due for a bigger retreat, in particular.

After the close, Applied Materials (AMAT, Fortune 500) reported a steer-than-expected quarterly loss versus a profit a year ago. The chipmaker also reported a plunge in revenue, but results were better than expected.

Shares slumped 2% in after-hours trading.

Also after the close, Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) reported a $9.9 billion quarterly loss and asked the government for another $6.1 billion in help.

On Wednesday, April retail sales are due before the open from the Commerce Department. April sales are expected to hold steady after falling 1.2% in March. Sales excluding volatile autos are expected to have rise 0.2% after falling 1% in March.

Reports are also due on April import and export prices, March business inventories and weekly crude inventories.

Economy: The Treasury budget for April revealed a $20.9 billion deficit. It was the first during the month in 26 years, reflecting the impact of the recession and economic stimulus efforts. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a deficit of $20 billion.

Treasury had reported a budget deficit of $191 billion in March.

Treasury also released its annual report on the health of social security and Medicare, which showed that the recession has hit both programs hard.

The housing market contracted at a record pace in the first three months of the year, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Tuesday.

The national median price of single family homes sold during the first three months of the year fell 13.8% versus a year ago to $169,000.

The March trade deficit widened after narrowing in February, according to a government report released Tuesday morning. The deficit widened to $27.6 billion from a revised $26.1 billion. Economists expected a reading of $29 billion, on average, according to a Briefing.com survey.

Financials: Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) reportedly made $7.3 billion from the sale of 13.5 million shares of China Construction Bank to a group of buyers, according to published reports.

A number of banks sold stock or said they plan to sell stock to raise money.

U.S. Bancorp (USB, Fortune 500) sold $2.5 billion of stock and Bank of New York Mellon (BK, Fortune 500) sold around $1.2 billion in stock. BB&T (BBT, Fortune 500) is expected to sell $1.5 billion in stock. Regulators determined that the three banks do not need to raise more capital as a result of the bank stress tests.

In other news, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) said it has approved $8.2 billion in lending to consumers this year, thanks to the government funding it received through the bank bailout plan.

The bank sector was lower, but managed to trim losses late in the session. The KBW Bank (BKX) sector index, which includes two dozen of the largest banks, fell 4.2%.

Corporate news: Automakers were weaker, with General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) down on growing speculation that the company is likely to file for bankruptcy protection. The shares fell intraday to $1.09, the lowest level since 1933 Tuesday, one day after a group of the company's executives said they had sold stock and direct holdings in the automakers. Shares ended at $1.15, down 20%.

Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) fell after saying late Monday that it will sell 300 million shares of stock to raise roughly $1.8 billion in capital.

Bonds: Treasury prices were little changed, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 3.17% unchanged from Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Other markets: In global trading, Asian markets ended in mixed territory, while European markets ended lower.

In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery rose 35 cents to settle at $58.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for June delivery rose $10.40 to settle at $923.90 an ounce. 

The trust fund reflects a $2.4 trillion surplus paid into Social Security over 20 years that Uncle Sam has borrowed, spent and promised to pay back. Trust fund exhaustion represents the point at which only 76% of benefits could be paid out.

The main reason for the change in forecast: Demand for benefits has grown while money paid in has fallen because of growing unemployment and new tax breaks in the economic stimulus package passed in February.

Since the start of 2008, 5.7 million payroll tax jobs have disappeared. And another 4.3 million jobs are being filled on a part-time basis.

In the nearer term, the trustees estimate that Social Security will take in fewer taxes than the benefits that will be paid out by 2016. Last year, they estimated the near-term shortfall would occur in 2017.

Those who describe Social Security's situation as a crisis point to the 2016 date as the most important, because that's when the government has to start paying the system back with interest.

"When Social Security needs to draw down the 'surplus,' the Treasury will have to borrow money, raise taxes or cut other spending in order to redeem the IOUs," said Charles Konigsberg, a federal budget expert at deficit watchdog group the Concord Coalition.

Others, however, say that benefits can be paid out in full for the next few decades, and that the Social Security surplus has helped the government avoid borrowing more than $2 trillion over the past 20 years.

Regardless, everyone agrees it will be easier to address the long-term solvency problems sooner rather than later. In the meantime, there is no threat to current and soon-to-be retirees' benefits.

"Despite projections that Social Security can continue to pay full benefits for nearly 30 years, the sooner action is taken the more options for reform will be available and the fairer reforms will be to our children and grandchildren," said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, a managing trustee of the program.

Social Security benefits represented 4.4% of gross domestic product in 2008, but that share is projected to rise to 6.2% in 2034.

One way to understand the extent of Social Security's shortfalls is to consider how much more payroll tax would be needed today for the system to achieve actuarial balance over 75 years. The trustees estimate the current 12.4% payroll tax on the first $106,800 of a worker's wages would need to be raised to 14.4%. Or it could be done by reducing benefits by 13%.

But no one is suggesting such abrupt changes be made. Rather, a combination of measures phased-in over time is the path lawmakers are considering.

One of the factors causing the long-term shortfall: Americans are living longer. That's why the American Academy of Actuaries is advocating that lawmakers gradually increase the age at which a person can start collecting full Social Security benefits.

And during the 2005 Social Security reform debate, the notion of progressive indexing gained some political traction. Progressive indexing means that benefits of future high-income retirees would be indexed to inflation rather than to wages, as is currently the case. That would have the effect of reducing benefits from their current promised levels because inflation tends to grow more slowly than wages.

The recession also hit Medicare, which is in far worse shape than Social Security.

The Medicare hospital insurance trust fund - which funds Part A of Medicare - is forecast to be tapped out by 2017, or 2 years earlier than the trustees' estimate last year. At that point the system would only be taking in enough in payroll taxes to pay 81% of hospital insurance costs.

The trustees characterized the exhaustion date as "an urgent concern." They said congressional action will be needed to "ensure uninterrupted" benefits.

Starting last year, the fund -- which covers hospital stays and related care -- had already begun taking in less than the system paid out in benefits.

Last year, Medicare's costs were equal to 3.2% of GDP. But they're projected to soar to 11.4% by 2083. The trustees estimate that the 2.9% of worker's wages dedicated to Medicare today would have to rise to 6.78%. Or Medicare's outlays would need to be reduced by 53%.

Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary and a trustee, said financial stability for Medicare is ultimately tied to health care reform.

"We know that success ... depends on our ability to fix what's broken with the rest of the system," she said at a briefing, noting that when an uninsured person goes on Medicare, the costs to care for that person are higher than for someone who has had health insurance throughout his adult life.

Fixing Medicare "is more of a process," said Cori Uccello, the senior health fellow for the American Academy of Actuaries. She noted that the burden will likely need to be shared by taxpayers, those in the health industry and Medicare beneficiaries alike.

Part of that burden will be relieved once the growth of health care costs is slowed. But, Uccello said, "[That] is not going to happen overnight. It will take many years to see results." 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were expected to open mixed Tuesday,with trading expected to be volatile as the two-month rally is put to the test.

At 7 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were slightly higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

Stocks have risen for the past two months, but fell Monday as the rally hit a wall.

For Tuesday, investors have a very tentative attitude toward trading, said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Markets in London.

"I think there is just no direction to markets at the moment," said Jones. "They're just chopping around. We're seeing tight ranges. I wouldn't be surprised if, during the course of the day, they went from positive to negative."

Referring to the recent market gains, Jones said, "We've seen some fantastic rallies across the world in the last couple of months and I think investors are waiting for the next big catalyst."

Economy: On the economic calendar Tuesday is a report on the trade balance, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a deficit of $29 billion for March, according to consensus conducted by Briefing.com.

The Treasury budget comes out at 2 p.m. ET. Economists expect a deficit of $20 billion for April, according to Briefing.com consensus.

Also due out then is the Treasury's annual report on the long-term health of Social Security.

On Monday, the White House reported that 750,000 jobs will be saved or created by August as a result of the $787 billion stimulus package.

Companies: Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) raised $7.3 billion from the sale of part of its stake in China Construction Bank, according to published reports.

International markets: Overseas markets were mixed. In Asia, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong ended higher, while Japan's Nikkei finished lower. In morning trading in Europe, the XETRA-DAX in Frankfurt was higher, but London's FTSE and the CAC in Paris were lower.

Oil and money: The dollar rose versus the yen and fell against the euro and the British pound. The price of oil rose 55 cents to $59.05 a barrel. 

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks stumbled Monday as investors took a step back after propelling the major stock gauges by more than 30% each in just two months.

Treasury prices rallied, lowering the corresponding yields, as investors pulled money out of stocks and put it into the safer-haven bonds.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 156 points, or 1.8%. It was the Dow's biggest one-day selloff in three weeks.

The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 20 points, or 2.1%. Both the Dow and S&P 500 ended the previous session at four-month highs.

The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 8 points or 0.5%.

Stocks have been rallying since hitting multi-year lows in early March. The Dow and S&P 500 have risen for eight of the past nine weeks; the Nasdaq has risen for 9 in a row. In that time the Dow gained 31% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 37%.

Gains have been predicated on bets that the financial sector and economy are close to stabilizing. But with little economic news to focus on Monday, investors opted to back off.

After such a big run, stocks are probably going to be in a consolidation phase for the next couple of months, said Dan Genter, president and CEO at RNC Genter Capital Management.

"We're starting to see visibility of earnings going into the fourth quarter of the year and that's helped the market get back to more reasonable valuations," Genter said.

"But we're probably going to be lacking for a significant amount of good news to push us higher in the short term," he said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is speaking Monday night at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Financial Markets Conference on the results of the stress tests. His comments may influence markets in the early going Tuesday.

The March trade gap from the Census Bureau is due Tuesday morning, along with the National Association of Realtors' report on first-quarter median home prices.

Financials: Bank shares slipped, with the KBW Bank (BKX) sector index losing 7.1%.

Last week, the government revealed that 10 of the 19 banks that had been part of the stress tests would need to raise a collective $75 billion to be strong enough to withstand a potentially deeper recession.

Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500), two of the 10 banks needing capital, sold billions in stock just one day after the Thursday stress test announcements. Bank of America also registered Friday to sell 1.25 billion shares, which the company said will yield around $11 billion.

On Monday, U.S. Bancorp (USB, Fortune 500), Capital One Financial (COF, Fortune 500), BB&T (BBT, Fortune 500) and KeyCorp (KEY, Fortune 500) all announced plans to issue stock, with the intention of paying back the money their received under the government's bank bailout plan.

KeyCorp was one of the 10 banks that was told to raise more capital as a result of the stress tests. The other 3 were not.

In other banking news, troubled insurer American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500) is selling its Japanese headquarters to Nippon Life Insurance for $1.2 billion, in its latest undertaking to pay back a massive government loan. AIG shares fell 5.5%.

Company news: General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) shares slumped 10% after CEO Fritz Henderson repeated earlier comments that a bankruptcy filing is "probable." The government has given the company until the end of the month to reach deals with its creditors, labor union and dealerships to cut costs. If it fails to do so, GM will be placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, like Chrysler.

Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500), considered to be the healthiest of the big American automakers, has not taken government money and is not facing a bankruptcy filing.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners seven to three on volume of 1.49 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners topped advancers four to three on volume of 2.53 billion shares.

Washington: In other news, President Obama said Monday that he has secured the commitment of a number of industry groups to cut health care costs by $2 trillion over the next decade.

And the administration's top antitrust official said Obama will take a more aggressive approach to cracking down on monopolies than did his predecessor.

Bonds: Treasury prices rallied, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.17% from 3.28% Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Lending rates continued to fall. The three-month Libor rate fell to an all-time low of 0.92% from 0.94% Friday, according to Bloomberg.com. The overnight Libor rate held steady at 0.23%. Libor is a bank lending rate.

Other markets: In global trading, most Asian markets ended lower. European markets were lower in afternoon trading.

In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and fell against the yen.

U.S. light crude oil for June delivery fell 13 cents to settle at $58.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

COMEX gold for June delivery fell $1.40 to settle at $913.50 an ounce. 

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 128 points, or 1.5%, in the early going. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 18 points, or 2%. Both the Dow and S&P 500 ended the previous session at four-month highs.

The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gave back 30 points, or 1.8%.

Stocks have been on a roll since early March. The Dow and S&P 500 have both gained for eight of the last nine weeks, while the Nasdaq has advanced for nine in a row.

"There is a sense out there that the market is a little bit overboard," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners.

But Cardillo said that with the lack of economic reports coming out Monday or any obviously negative market news, there is a chance that stocks could eventually rally.

In the morning, declines were broad based, with 27 out of 30 Dow issues falling.

Health care: President Obama is expected to announce Monday that he has secured commitments to pull back healthcare costs from a half dozen trade associations representing unions, hospitals, insurers and drugmakers.

Hamed Khorsand, analyst at BWF Financial, said this might squeeze health care stocks, but it's unlikely to affect the market as a whole.

"Those comments will probably have an impact on the industry itself," said Khorsand. "It's been an overhang [to the healthcare industry] ever since he introduced that proposal at the beginning of the year."

Companies: Activist investor William Ackman is holding a meeting Monday as he moves forward with his battle to replace the Target (TGT, Fortune 500) board. Ackman claims that the company's directors lack expertise in retailing, credit cards, and real estate.

AT&T Inc. (T, Fortune 500) said Friday it is buying the majority of Alltel Wireless assets being sold by Verizon Communications (VZ, Fortune 500). The deal will expand AT&T's coverage in rural areas.

The European Commission is poised this week to fine Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) for abusing its dominant position in the market for semiconductors, sources told Reuters.

Corporate results: After U.S. markets closed Friday, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) posted a steep quarterly loss, as expected. Berkshire said it lost $1.5 billion in its first quarter, compared to a $1 billion profit during the same period a year ago.

Fed: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is slated to speak at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Financial Markets Conference at 7:30 p.m. ET. He is expected to discuss the results of the government's stress tests on banks.

World markets: Asian stocks finished the session at their highest level in seven months. But the momentum didn't carry over to Europe, where major markets were lower in afternoon trading.

Oil and money: The dollar rose versus the euro and the British pound, but slipped against the yen. The price of oil fell $1.06 a barrel to $57.57.

Stocks have been on a tear since early March, with the Dow and S&P 500 both rising for 8 of the last 9 weeks and the Nasdaq advancing for 9 in a row.

The Dow and S&P 500 both closed at more than 12-year lows on March 9th. Since then, the Dow has gained 31%, and the S&P 500 has gained 37.4%. Since closing at a more than six-year high on March 9th, the Nasdaq has gained 37%.

Wall Street ended last week on a high note after the government said employers cut fewer jobs than expected last month - and finally released the results of the financial sector's stress tests. The results showed that many of the nation's biggest banks need more money to withstand a possibly steeper economic slowdown. Yet, the results were far less dire than many people expected.

That willingness to focus on the positive, or at least the "less bad" news, has propelled stocks for weeks and is likely to keep doing so in the weeks ahead.

"The glass is being seen as partly full instead of empty, even when we have bad news," said Tom Hepner, financial advisor at Ruggie Wealth Management. "As the run continues, people become fearful of missing the train."

That wariness of missing out could lift stocks in the week ahead, as investors eye reports on retail sales, consumer inflation and Wal-Mart Stores' profits.

Monday: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gives the keynote address at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Financial Markets Conference. He is expected to discuss the results of the stress tests. The conference runs through Wednesday.

Tuesday: The March trade gap from the Census Bureau, due out in the morning, is expected to have widened to $29.2 billion from $26 billion in February, when it hit the lowest level in over 9 years.

Also on tap: The National Association of Realtors releases its report on first-quarter median home prices; the Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on funding health care reform; and Treasury releases its April budget.

Wednesday: Last week, the nation's chain stores reported a mixed bag of April sales. This week, the broader industry report is due from the Commerce Department.

April sales are expected to have fallen 0.1% after falling 1.2% in March. Sales excluding volatile autos are expected to have held steady after falling 1% in March.

Also on tap: Government reports on April import and export prices, March business inventories and weekly crude inventories.

Thursday: The government's April Producer Price index (PPI) is due out before the start of trading. The PPI, a measure of wholesale inflation, is expected to have risen 0.1% after falling 1.2% in the previous month. The so-called core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have risen 0.1% following a flat reading in March.

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500) is due to report quarterly results before the start of trade. Wal-Mart is expected to have earned 77 cents per share versus 76 cents a year earlier.

Also on tap: The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department.

Friday: The government's consumer price index (CPI) for April is expected to be unchanged after falling 0.1% in March. The core CPI is expected to have risen 0.1% after rising 0.2%

The NY Empire State Manufacturing index for May is expected to have declined to a reading of -15 from -14.65 in April. Any reading that is negative shows continued weakness in the sector.

Reports are also due on April capacity utilization and industrial production and the early reading on May consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.