Market Set for Modest Strength

It looks like we'll see a flattish morning for the stock market.

At 9:05 a.m. EST, the S&P 500 futures were down 1 point. That's still a few points above fair value and should bring some program-buying to the broad big-cap market just after the opening bell. But it's far from an unambiguously positive indication.

"The futures were a little on the sloppy side," said Jim Benning, a trader at BT Brokerage. The outlook for tech looks mixed as well, with the Nasdaq 100 futures off 13.45 to 3990.5. ...