NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks were set to open lower, with investors continuing to question whether recent upbeat data really is an indication of a turnaround in the markets.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 31.23 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,317.64, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.01 to 1,764.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.65 to 993.71. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was the second-lowest of the year, on a full-day basis, behind only the day after the Aug. 14 blackout.

Dow Jones futures fell 8 points recently to 9,312. Nasdaq futures declined 3.50 points, and S&P futures were 1.30 points lower.

In London, the FTSE 100 Index fell 13.90 points recently to 4,212 as profit-takers play catch-up following Monday’s banking holiday. European stocks are trading higher.

In European corporate news, Vivendi Universal’s (V) board meets Tuesday to consider bids for its film and TV assets, although the two remaining bidders – General Electric Co. (GE) and an investor group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. – may drop out in frustration if the board delays a decision.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average rallied late to close up 55.93 points, or 0.5 percent, at 10,332.57. Active short-covering in key blue chips by global hedge funds helped move the index, as did positive data from U.S. high-tech firms.

In U.S. corporate news, Boeing Co. (BA) petitioned the Air Force on Monday to end the company’s suspension from bidding on space contracts, according to an article on the Web site of the Washington Post on Tuesday. MCI’s (WCOEQ) court-appointed monitor plans to release a report today that orders some of the most sweeping corporate-governance changes yet following the accounting scandal that drove the former WorldCom Inc. into the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

After the bell Monday, AmeriCredit Corp. (ACF) reported a loss of 11 cents a share for its fiscal fourth quarter and restated results for fiscal 2002 and the first nine months of fiscal 2003. Sports Authority Inc. (TSA) projected a third-quarter profit of 3 cents to 5 cents a share, on sales totaling $530 million. During the fourth quarter the company said it expects profits of $1.04 to $1.06 a share, on sales of $720 million. The figures exclude costs associated with the Gart Sports Co. merger.

On the economic front, July durable goods orders figures will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The consensus estimate is a 1 percent rise, compared with a 2.6 percent jump during the last period.

U.S. stocks were set to open lower, with investors continuing to question whether recent upbeat data really is an indication of a turnaround in the markets.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that new orders for “durable” goods – costly manufactured products expected to last at least three years – went up by a solid 1 percent in July, on top of a bigger, 2.6 percent gain in June. The back-to-back gains marked a considerable improvement over the previous two months, when new orders fell by 1.4 percent in April and were flat in May.

July’s performance, which was on target with analysts’ expectations, reflected broad-based gains from cars and machinery to communications equipment and computers.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 31.23 points, or 0.3 percent, to 9,317.64, while the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.01 to 1,764.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.65 to 993.71. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was the second-lowest of the year, on a full-day basis, behind only the day after the Aug. 14 blackout.

Dow Jones futures fell 8 points recently to 9,312. Nasdaq futures declined 3.50 points, and S&P futures were 1.30 points lower.

In London, the FTSE 100 Index fell 13.90 points recently to 4,212 as profit-takers play catch-up following Monday’s banking holiday. European stocks are trading higher.

In European corporate news, Vivendi Universal’s (V) board meets Tuesday to consider bids for its film and TV assets, although the two remaining bidders – General Electric Co. (GE) and an investor group led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. – may drop out in frustration if the board delays a decision.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average rallied late to close up 55.93 points, or 0.5 percent, at 10,332.57. Active short-covering in key blue chips by global hedge funds helped move the index, as did positive data from U.S. high-tech firms.

In U.S. corporate news, Boeing Co. (BA) petitioned the Air Force on Monday to end the company’s suspension from bidding on space contracts, according to an article on the Web site of the Washington Post on Tuesday. MCI’s (WCOEQ) court-appointed monitor plans to release a report today that orders some of the most sweeping corporate-governance changes yet following the accounting scandal that drove the former WorldCom Inc. into the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

After the bell Monday, AmeriCredit Corp. (ACF) reported a loss of 11 cents a share for its fiscal fourth quarter and restated results for fiscal 2002 and the first nine months of fiscal 2003. Sports Authority Inc. (TSA) projected a third-quarter profit of 3 cents to 5 cents a share, on sales totaling $530 million. During the fourth quarter the company said it expects profits of $1.04 to $1.06 a share, on sales of $720 million. The figures exclude costs associated with the Gart Sports Co. merger.