US stock futures point up; Dow nears record

NEW YORK, Sep 27 (Reuters) US stock futures rose on Wednesday before economic data on durable goods and new home sales, with investors eyeing the Dow Jones industrial average as it nears its all-time record.

Shares of General Motors Corp. could be in focus as the heads of French car maker Renault and GM are to meet in Paris on Wednesday, but a Wall Street Journal report said a possible alliance could be in trouble. For details, see ID:nL27906745. GM shares rose 3 percent in Europe.

On Tuesday, the Dow rose to its second-highest close ever and within 60 points of its January 2000 record as a rebound in a measure of consumer confidence boosted optimism about the outlook for corporate earnings. The S&P 500 index hit a 5-1/2-year high.

Durable goods orders are expected to have risen modestly in August, while new home sales are likely to have fallen, according to Reuters surveys of economists.

Red Hat shares slid 6 percent after the closing bell on Tuesday and could limit gains on the Nasdaq, after the distributor of open-source Linux software posted second-quarter results.

ID:nN26376136 Also after the close on Tuesday, shares of BearingPoint Inc., a management and technology consulting firm, fell 17.5 percent as the company warned its 2006 earnings and cash would be significantly below expectations. ID:nN26376234 ''We have some disappointing news in Red Hat, and that certainly isn't going to help the Nasdaq. BearingPoint was disappointing news as well. On the whole, though, the tone of this market has been pretty good,'' said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst, Jefferies&Co.

S&P 500 futures were up 1 point, just above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 12 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 4 points.

Tuesday's rally was the second day of gains for stocks.

The Commerce Department releases August durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a median rise in orders of 0.5 percent. In July, orders for durable goods fell 2.5 percent.

The department also releases new home sales for August at 10 a.m.

(1400 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a median total of 1.040 million annualized units in August compared with 1.072 million in July.

REUTERS PKS PM1645