Market Preview: FOMC, Existing Home Sales, Adobe

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was able to put together a third straight positive session on Monday but volume was light, and this week's main event, at least on the domestic front, is still the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee that starts on Tuesday.

The decision on rates, of course, won't arrive until Wednesday afternoon, but expect the chatter about what the central bank may or may not say in its policy statement to start ramping up throughout Tuesday's session. No change in the interest rate target will be forthcoming but QE2's looming end means the market will be weighing every word change, even more than usual.

It'll be especially interesting to see if the Fed goes on the record with lower growth expectations for the economy, if it goes on the record with a slowdown on the slow recovery, or sticks with the temporary Japan tsunami disruption theory.

Tuesday's session could also be volatile depending on how a vote of confidence in Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou turns out overnight. Monday's gain was attributed to faith that the European authorities will be able to keep Greece from default by making the next round of support contingent on a new austerity plan but trouble for Papandreou would throw a wrench in the works.

Last week's slight bounce stopped a six-week slide in the major U.S. equity indices where it felt like no one was buying stocks at all. Well, it turns out someone was. The companies themselves. At least at a much greater pace than they were last year.

According to research from Biryani Associates, new buyback authorizations totaled more than $52 billion in May, bringing the year-to-date total to $248 billion, much higher than 2010's equivalent pace of $157 billion.

The firm points out that, if this pace holds up, the market could see new repurchase programs totaling $600 billion, a level that would be good for third largest of all time behind $655 billion in 2006 and $863 billion in 2007. In 2009, new buyback authorizations totaled just $18.1 billion.

May saw 121 new repurchase programs announced, including a $500 million authorization by Hasbro(HAS), a $100 million authorization by DeVry(DV), and a $4 billion authorization by Illinois Tool Works(ITW).

Tuesday's economic calendar is light with just existing home sales for May due at 10 a.m. ET from the National Association of Realtors. The consensus view is for a decline in the seasonally adjusted annual rate to 4.79 million from 5.05 million in April. Briefing.com expects an even bigger slowdown to 4.7 million.

Ian Shepherdson, the chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, sees the number coming even lower, at 4.6 million. But further out, he's more optimistic, arguing that the late Easter holiday and the rough weather in the Southern U.S. may have conspired to skew the numbers.